Three local softball teams advanced to the regional round of the state playoffs after finishing first or second in area tournaments last week.

Billingsley, Maplesville and Verbena will all compete in the Class 1A South Central Regional, from Friday to Saturday at the Troy Sportsplex.

All three teams will play their first games at 3:30 p.m. Mapesville will play Ragland, Verbena will play Fayetteville and Billingsley will play Jacksonville Christian.

The tournament will be double-elimination (see full bracket below), with the top two finishers advancing to the Class 1A state tournament, to be held May 15-17 in Montgomery.

Chilton County High School, Isabella, Jemison and Thorsby all failed to advance.

Two local teams advance out of Area 5 tournament

Billingsley hosted and won the Area 5 tournament, and Maplesville came in second place.

Maplesville defeated Billingsley, 3-2, on May 2, forcing the Bears to pick up a 13-1 win over Autaugaville to earn the right to face the Red Devils again.

BHS then defeated Maplesville twice, 16-1 and 15-0.

“We didn’t hit the ball well against them that first game, and they played well and definitely earned it,” Billingsley coach J.T. Lawrence said.

In the first Billingsley-Maplesville game, Maplesville’s Alyssa McGee limited the Bears to two runs on five hits in seven innings pitched while striking out two, while Alexus Nix, Brinley Carter and Camesha Wyatt scored the Devils’ three runs.

Anna Asbury tripled and scored a run for Billingsley, while Payton Wallace scored the team’s other run.

Asbury went 2-for-2 with two runs scored at the plate against Autaugaville, while MacKenzie Glass went 2-for-2 with three runs scored.

Karsan Tindol’s 3-for-3 performance powered Billingsley in their first win over Maplesville. She also scored one run and drove in three.

Madison Motley went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

In the championship game, Motley went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, while Tindol went 2-for-3 with two RBI.