HS sports update: Huskies softball finishes 2nd in tournament
BASEBALL
Clay-Chalkville
The Clay-Chalkville baseball team played in Gulf Coast Classic II during the week. The Cougars began the week with a 7-6 win over Baldwin County on Monday. Logan Pruett broke a 6-6 tie in the seventh inning by scoring on a passed ball. Logan Catalano doubled and drove in two runs in the game, while Pruett, Connor Miles and Michael Kilgore each racked up three hits.
The Cougars played two games on Tuesday, splitting the pair. Clay-Chalkville lost a tough 8-7 decision to Phil Campbell, but rebounded nicely for a 19-4 win over Locust Fork. The Cougars wrapped up tournament play on Wednesday with an 8-5 win over Oneonta.
Hewitt-Trussville
The Hewitt-Trussville baseball team also spent its week at the beach in Gulf Coast Classic II. The Huskies picked up a 3-1 win over Russellville on Monday to start the week. Carson Skipper hurled a complete game, allowing just four hits and striking out 14 hitters. He also picked up two hits with an RBI double. Ed Johnson and Davis Burgin also had hits in the game.
The Huskies lost a heartbreaker on Tuesday, falling to Fairhope, 4-2. Fairhope hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to end the contest.
Hewitt-Trussville finished up the tournament by winning a pair of games on Wednesday. The Huskies picked up a 5-1 win over Hackleburg, in which Creed Parker pitched six innings and struck out four. Skipper homered twice and drove in four runs. In a 13-0 win over Normal West (Illinois), Burgin pitched a two-hit shutout. Michael Fowler had two hits, including a homer, and two RBIs. Tyler Mauldin and Zach Defnall also knocked in a pair each.
Pinson Valley
The Pinson Valley baseball team played in the Choccolocco Park Spring Break Experience in Oxford during the week. On Wednesday, the Indians dropped their first two games, falling to Sardis (8-1) and Vestavia Hills (6-4). On Thursday, the Indians fell to Mountain Brook, 13-3. Pinson Valley wrapped up its week with an 11-3 loss to Oxford.
SOFTBALL
Clay-Chalkville
The Clay-Chalkville softball team spent spring break at the beach, taking part in Gulf Coast Classic III. On Monday, the Cougars picked up a pair of wins. In their 3-2 win over Rogers, Rachel Smith tripled and drove in two runs. Mallory Morgan allowed two unearned runs on three hits in five strong innings. In the second game, Julia Petty no-hit Cordova in a 3-0 win for the Cougars. Petty struck out 10 hitters in the win.
The Cougars didn’t fare as well on Tuesday, dropping both games to finish pool play with a 2-2 record. Clay-Chalkville fell to Hoover, 6-2, before dropping a 3-1 contest to defending Class 6A champ Hazel Green.
Clay-Chalkville played two games on Wednesday to conclude its run in the tournament. The Cougars defeated Woodland, 10-1, as Smith and Mekaela Talton each drove in two runs and Morgan allowed one run on five hits in four innings of work. The Cougars then fell to Hewitt-Trussville, 16-0, and were eliminated.
Hewitt-Trussville
The Hewitt-Trussville softball team also participated in the Gulf Coast Classic III tournament. The Huskies picked up a pair of pool wins on Monday. In the 8-1 win over Marshall County, Hannah Borden drove in five runs on three hits and Crystal Maze knocked in two runs. Molly Cobb hurled five innings and allowed two hits and an unearned run while striking out seven. The Huskies then beat Jackson Academy, 8-2. Maze drove in two more runs, and Tate Moseley and Cobb each notched three hits. Hayden Neugent gave up three hits and two runs (one earned) in four innings of work.
Hewitt-Trussville won two more games on Tuesday to finish pool play 4-0. The Huskies did not surrender a run on Tuesday, as they defeated Yorkville 5-0 and Cleveland 8-0. In the win over Yorkville, Cobb homered and knocked in two, while KK Hughes surrendered just five hits and struck out six batters in five innings of work. Abigail Dorsett also racked up three hits. In the win over Cleveland, Cobb and Maze hit homers, while Cobb, Neugent and Anyce Harvey combined for a no-hitter in the circle.
The Huskies put on a clinic on Wednesday, running through the 67-team tournament all the way to the championship game. In their first five games of the day, they did not allow a run. They began the day with a 17-0 win over Crossville. Kailey Walters homered and drove in three runs and Maze was 3-for-3 with three doubles and three RBIs. The Huskies followed that with a 16-0 win over Clay-Chalkville. Maze homered and drove in two, Kaitlyn McDaniel was 2-for-2 with a double and five RBIs, and Harvey doubled and brought home three.
The Huskies then defeated Hatton, 4-0, as Cobb allowed just two hits and struck out six in four innings of work. Maze doubled and drove in two runs. In the quarterfinals, Hewitt-Trussville dominated Hoover, 13-0. Neugent hurled the shutout, Maze drove in four, Moseley knocked in three and Abigail Dorsett doubled twice. In the 5-0 win over Alexandria in the semifinals, Cobb allowed three hits in four innings, while Borden hit a home run and drove in three.
The Huskies finally fell to Thompson, 4-3, in the championship game. Borden and Moseley homered in the game, but the Huskies' fourth-inning rally fell short after Thompson took the lead with a three-run fourth.