Cullman SB very superior in 1st day of Gardendale Invitational:
Cullman outscores Mt. Brook & Ramsay 27 to 2 on Friday:
GDW Analysis:
GARDENDALE: Cullman softball showed Mountain Brook and Ramsay how superior they are early in the 2026 season. In the first day of the Gardendale Invitational, the Lady Bearcats run ruled Mountain Brook 12 to 0 and followed it later in the day by a 15 to 0 shutout of Ramsay. In 4 games this week, Drew Bryson's Lady 'Cats have outscored the opposition 58 to 12 and go into the Saturday segment of the Gardendale Invitational 7 & 0. Facing Mountain Brook, the Lady 'Cats used a 7 run 2nd inning to get control of the game taking the lead to 8 to 0.
Mountain Brook tallied a pair of runs against Kyneli Storey in its half of the 3rd. Cullman answered with 4 in the last of the inning then got the victory by not allowing Mountain Brook to score for the rest of the game. Story went the distance for Cullman, allowing 2 runs in 7 hits with 3 strikeouts. Abby Maples was 3 for 3 from her leadoff spot while Hattie Graham was 2 for 2 batting 2nd. Maples had 3 runs batted in, Graham finished with 2. Samantha Johnson did not get a hit but she contributed with 3 runs batted in on groundouts. Reese Hopper had 2 hits in 3 at bats and drove in a pair of runs. Cullman handled Ramsay with ease in the night game. Thirteen runs came across in the Lady 'Cats 2nd as six of the hitters batted twice in the inning. Maples had a 2 run double, Johnson and Hopper followed with RBI singles, Storey unloaded a bases clearing triple and a Johnson 2 run homer in her 2nd trip to the plate made it 15 to 0. Gracen Bates got the win in the nightcap surrending three hits and keeping Ramsay from scoring when the Lady Rams put a couple of runners on with back to back singles in the 3rd. The game ended by the run rule. Cullman has its final game of round robin at 9:00 a.m. Saturday with the invitational to go into a tournament setup by lunch time.
Photo of the Cullman Lady Bearcats showing togetherness in a game vs. Bob Jones February 25 at Cullman High School. Cullman won 13 to 3. Photo courtesy of Soulmate Snaps.
