Saraland played nearly 12 hours of softball in the AHSAA’s South Regional in Gulf Shores on Thursday.

It took five total games, including three straight elimination game wins, but the Spartans also will play in the Class 6A state tournament in Oxford next week.

“It wasn’t me. It was the kids,” coach Donna Sunnycalb said. “We had no idea obviously we would have to play it out in one day, but our conversation all last week was that we needed to do whatever it took if we really wanted to go to state, and they did that.

“Our kids showed so much grit and fortitude to get through everything. I think what you saw is 16 kids rise up together and just go for that common goal, which was to get to the state tournament and play for a Blue Map.”

RELATED: State tournament schedule, pairings

Due to rain Wednesday, the Alabama High School Athletic Association made the decision to play the entire Class 6A double-elimination South bracket on Thursday.

“That was tough,” Sunnycalb said. “It was a tough thing to do, especially if you did what we did, which was lose Game 2. That meant you had to play five games in a row. I will give Ryan Barkley from the AHSAA credit. He was very willing to give teams breaks and asked us how much time we needed between games. I was thankful for that. I did voice my concerns about how I felt we should have been given that Day 2, but it is what it is. More than anything, I’m just super proud of my girls.”

Saraland played its first game at 12:15 p.m. Thursday.

At 11:53 p.m., the Spartans had their plaque as the No. 2 qualifier for state. Sunnycalb said she made it home about 2:30 a.m.

The Spartans (36-12-1) defeated Pike Road 7-2 in Game 1 before losing to rival Spanish Fort 6-2 in the second game, dropping them into the loser’s bracket. Saraland then beat Wetumpka 2-1 and Baldwin County 3-2 to force the final game, a rematch against Spanish Fort for the final qualifying spot from the South behind No. 1 qualifier Rehobeth.

The Spartans jumped on the Toros with 3 runs in the first, 4 more in the second and 2 in the third to take a commanding lead on the way to a 10-3 win. Kori Simmons went 3-for-4 with 5 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Myleigh Dobbins also had 3 hits. Dobbins also pitched a complete game in the circle, scattering 7 hits and walking 5.

Anne Thomas Luke drove in 2 runs for Spanish Fort. Alexa Nance and Jayla Harris each had 2 hits. The Toros finished 40-12.

“Everyone was locked in,” Sunnycalb said of the final game. “When you get a group of girls who really want something bad, they will make it happen. That’s what happened yesterday.”

Dobbins and Laken Bryan combined for 520 pitches Thursday for Saraland. Dobbins pitched 22 innings, Bryan 12. Gracie Dees hit .455 for the day with a homer and 3 RBIs. She walked 7 times. Simmons hit .389 with 8 RBIs. Dobbins hit .312. Kyla Reed stole 6 bases.

Saraland will play Brookwood at 9 a.m. Thursday in its first-round game in Oxford. The winner’s bracket final is set for 3 p.m. that day with the championship scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday.

Did Sunnycalb expect this type of season from the Spartans?

“Absolutely not,” she said. “I had no idea what I was going to get. As a coach, you always see your weaknesses. You never really know. Everything depends on these girls. Whatever they set their minds to is going to happen, and that is what we saw yesterday.”

Other submitted softball highlights:

Gators headed to state

Satsuma (31-20-3) won three games in a row in the elimination bracket to advance to the 4A state playoffs in Oxford. The Gators will play American Christian Academy (33-15) at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

 “We played the best defense of our entire season this week. It was completely locked down,” Satsuma coach Lauren Stewart.

The Gators played five games in two days in the South Regional, a total of 37 innings, and committed only 4 errors.

Satsuma opened the tournament with a 13-3 win over Dale County before dropping a 2-0 decision to Opp to fall into the loser’s bracket. The Gators then beat Straughn 8-2, Jackson 3-0 and Opp 2-1 to earn the No. 2 qualifying spot behind Orange Beach.

In the final game against Opp, Madison Sawyer pitched a complete game in the 9-inning win. She struck out 6. The Gators broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth on senior Bralee Byrd’s go-ahead double.

For the tournament, catcher Presley Willis hit .471 with 3 RBIs. Sawyer hit .312 with 2 homers and 7 RBIs and pitched 23.2 innings in the circle, giving up only 3 earned runs and striking out 29. Sophomore leadoff batter Brittaney Jones hit .412.

Toros set school record for wins

Spanish Fort, ranked No. 1 for most of the season in Class 6A, fell just short of making the state tournament.

However, the Toros finished 40-12, setting a school record for wins in a season.

Spanish Fort went 2-2 in the South Regional, opening the one-day tournament with wins over Stanhope Elmore (7-1) and Saraland (6-2) before losing to No. 1 qualifier Rehobeth (2-1) and No. 2 qualifier Saraland (10-3).

Toros star Haley Hart went 6-for-7 in the tournament with 4 doubles and 8 walks. Other top individual performances for Spanish Fort on Thursday included Cayden Dorger (7 strikeouts in a complete game in the circle against Stanhope Elmore); Maddie Nelson (3-for-3 with a home run and 2 doubles in the first game against Saraland); and Mallarie Beagle (7 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1 run in Game 1 against Saraland).

Daphne dominates in 7A

Last year’s 7A state runner-up Daphne dominated in two games at the Class 7A South Regional.

The Trojans beat Mary G. Montgomery 11-1 and Fairhope 6-0 to earn the No. 1 qualifying spot. Fairhope is the South’s No. 2 qualifier.

Daphne will open the state tournament in Oxford at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday against Auburn. Fairhope will open against Central-Phenix City.

Reigning Miss Softball Vic Moten pitched 12 innings, giving up 5 singles and 3 walks and striking out 21. She didn’t allow an earned run. She also went 4-for-4 at the plate with a homer and 3 walks.

Karsyn Barnett was 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs. Hannah Newport was 2-for-5 with a walk and 5 RBIs. Claire Senese, a seventh-grader, was 2-for-5 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored.