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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Julia Rose (6) and Hollon Gay (3) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Ryanne Head (13) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Hollon Gay (3) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Ryanne Head (13) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Hollon Gay (3) and Joy Bragan during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Ava Scott Gay (11) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Kate Flanagan (19) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Kate Flanagan (19) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Kate Flanagan (19) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' John Simmons during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills celebrates during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Lilly Ferguson (23) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills baserunner during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Chloe Leahy (14) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Chloe Leahy (14) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Hollon Gay (3) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Hollon Gay (3) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' John Simmons and Hollon Gay (3) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Ryanne Head (13) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Addison Ferrell (00) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Olivia Adkins (21) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Chloe Leahy (14) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Ryanne Head (13) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Ava Scott Gay (11) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Photo by Kyle Parmley
Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Lilly Ferguson (23) and Addison Ferrell (00) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Hannah Walker (17) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Class 7A, Area 6 Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Lilly Ferguson (23) during a Class 7A, Area 6 tournament game between Oak Mountain and Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at Roberts Stadium in Trussville. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
The Vestavia Hills High School softball team was one strike away from seeing its season end.
With two outs in the seventh inning and the Rebels trailing Oak Mountain 4-2, head coach John Simmons made a decision.
He went with his gut and sent Hollon Gay to the plate as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded. After falling behind in the count, Gay muscled a ball into left field, scoring two runs and tying the game at 4-4.
"I like the way she swings, and she works really hard," Simmons said. "I battled with taking the senior out [Chloe Leahy] and putting someone in. I thought it would give us the best chance in the moment."
A Vestavia dugout that had been bracing for elimination exhaled all at once.
"She got two strikes on her, it got a little scary, and she wound up getting the big hit," Simmons said. "That was a huge load off the shoulders. I was so excited for her, and no one deserves that more than Hollon Gay."
The storybook moment did not end there. Two batters later, Gay's sister, Ava Scott, stepped to the plate and cleared the bases with a three-run hit, pushing Vestavia in front for good. The Rebels poured across seven runs in the inning and went on to win 9-6.
The sequence harkened memories of a famous pinch-hit moment in Alabama softball history, when head coach Patrick Murphy sent Jazlyn Lunceford to the plate in a pivotal 2009 Women's College World Series game and she delivered a grand slam.
In the win, Vestavia Hills struck first with two runs in the first inning on Leahy's two-run hit. Oak Mountain eventually went ahead in the fourth inning and held that lead until the seventh. Kate Flanagan and Lilly Ferguson combined in the pitcher's circle, with Flanagan going 4 2/3 innings and Ferguson throwing 2 1/3.
The win was part of a larger story for a Vestavia program that has matured quicker than Simmons expected. It is the first time in his five years at Vestavia that the Rebels have advanced to regionals.
"Coming into this year, I thought it would take another year," he said. "But they showed a lot of maturity. The team camaraderie was unprecedented, and we started moving through the season as a mature bunch, even though we were young."
Vestavia finished as area runner-up after falling to Hewitt-Trussville 14-5 later in the day. The Rebels will advance to the Class 7A East Regional in Albertville, where they will open against Huntsville on Monday. Hewitt-Trussville and Sparkman will also be in the field. The top two teams among those four will advance to the state tournament.
Simmons said his team will take advantage of some much-needed rest before next week.
"The area tournament, ever since I've been here, all four teams have been very difficult to play," he said. "The area tournament is so mind-draining, and just getting through that, they need a break. Little rest, mind preparation, getting pitchers some rest."
After what happened in the seventh inning against Oak Mountain, they have earned it.
"That pressure being off us to get out of area is a huge weight off our shoulders, getting past where we have gone to before," Simmons said. "The biggest thing is go in there relaxed and play our game, don’t let the other outside forces become part of the game."
