Coming back strong: Huskies rally from loser's bracket, claim state title
OXFORD – The Huskies decided they didn’t want to experience the pain again.
After leaving the state tournament as runners-up last spring, the Hewitt-Trussville High School softball team reclaimed its spot at the top of the mountain.
Hewitt-Trussville climbed out of the loser’s bracket and defeated Fairhope twice, 7-4 and 12-2, on Saturday afternoon to win its third Class 7A state championship in the last five years.
“I cannot even begin to explain to you how incredibly proud I am of them, coming back after last night’s loss and showing up today and doing exactly what they said they were going to do,” Hewitt-Trussville head coach Taylor Burt said following the win.”
The Huskies won the second game in run-rule fashion, as senior Gracie Reeves stroked a walk-off base hit to cap off her career in the most fitting way possible, as Peyton Hull came around to score and win the ball game.
Reeves, Hannah Dorsett, Rubie Simon and Taylor Davis were in seventh grade when Burt arrived as the head coach at Hewitt-Trussville. They have been involved with the program through all three championships and played key roles on this one, especially.
“I can’t even begin to tell you what those four mean to me,” Burt said. “They’re the best humans.”
The Huskies reached the final Saturday by taking care of business against Sparkman in the loser’s bracket final, beating the Senators 5-0. Hewitt won its first two games of the state tournament Friday, squeaking past Daphne 3-2 before beating Central-Phenix City 6-0. Fairhope sent the Huskies to the loser’s bracket with a 1-0 win to cap off the first evening of play.
With Fairhope winning all three of its games the first day of the tournament, the Pirates awaited its opponent in the title game needing to be defeated twice. The Huskies did just that.
In the first game, star pitchers Sara Phillips and Ryley Harrison matched zeroes on the scoreboard for the first three innings. In the top of the fourth, Hewitt’s Chaney Peters got ahold of one and hit a solo home run to dead center field to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. They added three more runs in the inning to stake Phillips to a 4-0 edge.
Phillips drove in a run on a hit in the sixth and Hewitt added a pair more in the seventh. Fairhope notched three runs in the seventh, but it was too little, too late.
The second and decisive game got underway, with Fairhope staking claim to a 2-0 lead against Phillips. But inclement weather delayed play in the bottom of the first for just over an hour. After that, the Huskies came out hot.
They got on the board with Lexie Kelly’s double in the second. Faggard and Kelly had run-scoring hits the following inning as well to give Hewitt a 3-2 lead. The hits kept coming in the fourth, as Hewitt posted eight runs to open up an 11-2 lead before walking it off in the fifth. Kelly and Faggard were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts, while Phillips was named tournament MVP.
Hewitt-Trussville started the tournament with a 3-2 win over Daphne, as the Huskies scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Phillips came on in relief and fired 4 2/3 scoreless innings, punching out eight batters.
The Huskies then beat Central 6-0, piling up 15 hits in the process. Zaylen Tucker, Kelly and Phillips all notched three hits in the game, with Tucker and Phillips combining for the shutout in the circle.
The only run in the 1-0 loss to Fairhope came on a controversial call at the plate in the first inning. Phillips and Harrison both threw complete games, with Harrison striking out an impressive 16 batters over seven innings.
The following day, Sparkman eliminated defending champion Thompson to get to Hewitt. In the 5-0 win, Faggard had three more hits and drove in a pair, while Phillips threw six scoreless frames.
Phillips led the way for the pitching staff throughout the tournament, with Hicks and Tucker providing key quality innings over the two days as well.
"I know last year she left with a sour taste in her mouth," Burt said of Phillips. "She was ready to come back and get this, and she did the dang thing. We had wonderful help from our other pitchers too to give her a little bit of a break and they did everything they needed to do."
After starting the season 4-4, the Huskies rolled off 22 wins in a row and hit their stride heading into April. Hewitt-Trussville went 6-0 in regular season area play and won the area tournament after winning three games in a day facing elimination.
They rolled through the 7A East Regional, notching impressive wins over Thompson and Spain Park to advance to the state tournament.
The Huskies are familiar with the state tournament path. The program is on quite a run over the last five years, winning three state championships (2019, 2021, 2023) and finishing as the runner-up once (2022).
Mother Nature was a factor all week in Oxford, forcing delays in four of the five days of the tournament. It struck one last time, with rain beginning to fall right as Hewitt scored the winning run, turning into a heavy downpour soon thereafter.
That was the least of anyone’s worries holding a blue map Saturday.
“I know it’s raining, but I don’t even care. I love it. I’m so proud of them,” Burt said.