With two great pitchers facing off in the Class 5A North Regional tournament championship game Friday afternoon, Ardmore coach Stephen Baugh knew it would take something a little different in order to break through against Alexandria pitcher Maggie Phillips.

So with a fast runner on third and a capable bunter in the batter’s box in the top of the third inning, Baugh signaled for a squeeze play. It was executed perfectly, as Addison Hurst laid down a bunt bringing home Madison Lewis from third base, who slid in just ahead of the catcher’s tag to give Ardmore a 1-0 lead.

“I don’t know what the record is for squeeze plays in high school softball, but we might just hold it,” Baugh said. “Sometimes that’s what you’ve got to do. When you get the right combination o a runner at third and someone you trust at the plate like Addison, it works out well.”

That would turn out to be all the runs Ardmore pitcher Sydney Hall needed, as she pitched the Tigers to a 2-0 victory over the Valley Cubs to win the regional tournament championship and advance to next week’s state tournament.

L.B. Smith led Ardmore with two hits, including a double, while Hurst had two hits and both RBIs. Mackenzie McCormick also had two hits for Ardmore, while Karla Hice added a hit for the Tigers.

“That was two college pitchers going at it,” Baugh said. “We had to play a little small ball there and it worked out for us. Sydney was dynamite and so was our defense. It was very impressive.”

Ardmore added an insurance run in the fifth inning on a RBI single by Hurst, and Hall did the rest, allowing just one hit and retiring the final 19 batters of the game in order.

“There are two people in life, those that don’t have it and those who have it, and she has it,” Baugh said about his pitcher. “There’s no doubt. She’s a competitor. The three games in the regional she gave up one run. That’s three games against some good hitting teams. She did a heck of a job.”

The only inning Alexandria threatened was the first, when a hit batsman and a single put runners on first and third with one out. The Valley Cubs tried a double steal, but Ardmore was ready for it, as second baseman Olivia Stafford ran in front of second base to take the throw from catcher Hurst, and then threw back home to nab the runner trying to steal. No other Alexandria batter reached base the remainder of the game.

“We practice first and third plays about as much as any team does, even though we haven’t faced many this year,” Baugh said. “But when it mattered the most, the work we put in paid off.”

Hall said the defensive play gave her confidence to finish the game strong.

“I know they have my back and I have theirs,” Hall said. “We knew we needed to step up to the challenge and we did.”