HS sports update: Hacker qualifies, Huskies baseball, softball head to state
BASEBALL
The Hewitt-Trussville baseball team will return to the Class 7A state finals after sweeping Bob Jones, 8-5 and 5-4, on Friday night.
The Huskies took Game 1 on the strength of Keith Lanum’s triple and three RBIs. Carson Skipper picked up three hits and drove in two runs, while Michael Fowler picked up the win on the mound (eight strikeouts) and picked up two hits at the plate. Caden Kirk picked up two hits and scored twice as well.
In the second game, Jacob Bishop’s bases-loaded, two-run single lifted the Huskies to walk-off win.
Hewitt-Trussville will face Auburn in the state final series this weekend in Montgomery. The first game is set for 6 p.m. Friday at Paterson Field, with Game 2 set for a 10 a.m. start at Riverwalk Stadium. A third game will follow if necessary.
SOFTBALL
Hewitt-Trussville
The Hewitt-Trussville softball team clinched its first state tournament berth since 2015 after dominating the Class 7A North Regional in Huntsville on Friday.
The Huskies were the top qualifier from the regional after notching wins over Buckhorn and Sparkman. They will play in the state tournament, set for Wednesday and Thursday at Montgomery’s Lagoon Park. Hewitt-Trussville’s first game will be 9 a.m. Wednesday against Spain Park.
Hewitt-Trussville cruised to a 9-1 win over defending champion Buckhorn in the first game on Friday. Anyce Harvey hit a home run and drove in three runs in the game, while Kailey Walters drove in two runs of her own. Tate Moseley, Crystal Maze and Abigail Dorsett each had multi-hit performances. Hayden Neugent and Molly Cobb combined to surrender just four hits in the circle.
The Huskies then crushed Sparkman, 15-5, to wrap up their regional tournament run. Hannah Borden slugged two home runs and drove in five runs for Hewitt-Trussville. Cobb picked up three hits and three RBIs, while Moseley doubled and drove in three runs as well. Maze brought home two, and Cobb went the distance in the circle for the win.
Pinson Valley
For the second straight year, the Pinson Valley softball team came within a win of qualifying for the state tournament for the first time in school history, as they placed third in the Class 6A North Central Regional in Tuscaloosa on Thursday and Friday.
The Indians began play with two wins on Thursday. In a 16-4 win over Homewood, Shauna Clevenger picked up three hits and drove in five runs. Maddie Pliscofsky also picked up three hits and drove in three runs. Charlotte Phillips drove in three and scored four times, and Hope Cole and Graci Graves each had multi-RBI games.
Pinson Valley then jumped on John Carroll early and never let up in a 13-0 win. Phillips doubled and drove home three runs, while Pliscofsky and Mollie Peoples each had two RBIs. Cole scattered six hits in five scoreless innings of work.
On Friday, the Indians fell to area foe Gardendale, 4-1, in a tight battle. Gardendale had outscored Pinson 50-4 in the teams’ four previous meetings throughout the season, so the Indians were encouraged by the result. Jordan Walker gave up just two hits and all four runs were unearned.
But Pinson Valley’s road came to an end in a crushing 5-4 loss to Hueytown in eight innings. Phillips’ RBI groundout in the eighth gave the Indians a one-run lead, but Hueytown got a two-out single that trickled through the left side of the infield and scored two runs to lift the Golden Gophers to the victory.
Seniors Pliscofsky, Maison Tanner and Ande Findley saw their time in a Pinson uniform come to an end with the loss.
GOLF
The Hewitt-Trussville boys golf team finished third in the Class 7A North Sub-State tournament on Monday, May 7, at Timberline Golf Club in Calera.
Ethan Hacker led the way for the Huskies with a 72, good enough to qualify for the state tournament as an individual. The state tournament will be played Monday and Tuesday, May 14-15, at The Shoals Golf Club in Muscle Shoals. Dawson Atkinson finished with a 76, Logan McCracken shot a 77, Christopher Edwards fired a 79 and Austin Collar shot 87.
Katelyn McIntyre qualified for sub-state as an individual on the girls side and shot an 88.