MONTGOMERY — Ardmore coach Stephen Baugh said the one thing that concerned him coming into the Class 5A state tournament was his team’s hitting.

That worry came true Friday morning, as the Tigers managed only one hit in a 5-0 loser’s-bracket loss to Mortimer Jordan that ended their season.

The game was originally scheduled for Thursday night, but was pushed back to Friday due to a thunderstorm that rolled through Montgomery Thursday evening.

Mortimer Jordan pitcher Madison Maze had the rise ball working, and it continued to bedevil the Ardmore hitters the whole game. Maze had 10 strikeouts and was within one out of a no-hitter, before L.B. Smith hit a slow roller to shortstop that she beat out for an infield hit with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“I said that we had to lay off the rise ball, and we didn’t do it,” Baugh said. “We got back in the batter’s box to try and lay off of it, and some of our players did, but some of them didn’t. She was throwing the curve ball as well, and the umpire was giving her two-to-three inches off the plate, which makes it hard to hit. Of course, he was giving that to us, too. They made the adjustments and we didn’t, and that’s on us.”

Mortimer Jordan got on the board in the top of the second inning when Anna Purvis hit a line shot to left field and flew all the way around the bases to score for an inside-the-park home run.

The Blue Devils added to their lead in the fourth inning with a more conventional home run, as Danilyn Moore hit a two-run blast over the left field fence.

Mortimer Jordan wasn’t finished with the homer parade, as Maia Townsend led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo homer to center. Townsend also drove in the Blue Devils’ final run of the game on an RBI double in the top of the seventh inning.

“We gave up a lot of home runs in three games we don’t usually give up,” Baugh said. “That’s a credit to the teams we played down here. They were good-hitting teams. But we gave up eight home runs, and we don’t usually give up that many.”

Baugh said the home runs were something his team just couldn’t overcome.

“In softball, there’s absolutely two momentum killers, and that’s home runs and squeeze plays,” Baugh said. “You give up so many home runs, it sucks away the momentum, and we couldn’t overcome it.”

Even though Ardmore fell short of its goal for a state championship, Baugh said he was proud of the Tigers for advancing to the state tournament for the third consecutive year.

“We’re knocking on the door, and we’ve got to keep knocking,” he said. “It’s a heck of an achievement to be down here three years in a row. Not many teams can say that. But like I told the girls, we’ve got to get over the hump down here. We have to win our first two games.”

Ardmore will bring back most of the talent from this year’s team. The only starters who are not returning are seniors Mackenzie McCormack, Karla Hice and Olivia Stafford. However, Ardmore had to get used to playing without Hice and Stafford for long stretches of this season, as both players battled injuries.

“Hopefully, we have the opportunity to break through that door here next year,” Baugh said. “I’ll have the most talented team I’ve ever had at Ardmore next year, so we’ll see what happens. We’re going to go to work.”