Huskies finish runner-up at state

History didn’t quite repeat itself for Jeff Mauldin and the Hewitt-Trussville High School baseball team, but the Huskies head coach still came away from the season with an immense sense of pride.

Hewitt-Trussville failed to make the playoffs in 2015 and came back to win it all in 2016. The program missed out on the postseason last year and almost pulled off the turnaround once again.

The Huskies were swept by Auburn in the Class 7A championship series May 18-19 in Montgomery, as they finished the season one step shy of winning the program’s second state title. Auburn took Game 1 by a score of 4-1 and edged out a 1-0 victory in Game 2 to clinch the series.

“I’m more proud of our kids, because their pitcher really held us down all game, and to have an opportunity there in the sixth and the seventh [innings] showed the resilience and fight our kids have,” Mauldin said following the second game.

Second baseman Tyler Mauldin knocked in the lone run for Hewitt-Trussville in the series, as his base hit gave his team a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning of Game 1. But Auburn notched all four of its runs in the sixth and held on for the victory, despite a strong performance on the mound from Carson Skipper. He threw the complete game, allowing just five hits while striking out eight.

Auburn’s run in the third inning was the difference in the win over Hewitt in Game 2. But the Huskies had opportunities during the final two innings and did not go down quietly.

“Our kids have shown that all year,” Jeff Mauldin said of the team’s willingness to battle back. “I wasn’t surprised.”

Jeff Mauldin told his players to relish the moment despite the immediate disappointment of the loss.

“We told them only two teams make it here,” he said. “It’s going to hurt for a while, but take pictures with your teammates with the trophy, so you can look back next month, a year from now, 10 years from now and you’re going to be proud of what you accomplished.”

The loss in the championship series did not define the season in Jeff Mauldin’s eyes. The Huskies knocked off the defending champs in the first round, rallying in the final inning of Game 3 to defeat Hoover. They followed that up with sweeps of James Clemens and Bob Jones to reach the final.

“This was a special season,” Jeff Mauldin said. “What they’ve been through since January to now is what defines a season. This was a successful season. Today does not mark a failure on our year.”

Hewitt-Trussville was led by four seniors in 2018, all of whom have signed to play baseball in college. Skipper and Ed Johnson will head to Auburn, while Davis Burgin plans to play at Marion Military Institute and Walker Sahagun signed with Martin Methodist College.

“We’re going to need our seniors [next year] to follow the leadership of these four seniors,” Jeff Mauldin said. “We feel like we’ve got really good players coming back. We lose a lot on the mound, but that’s what this summer’s about: finding those next guys for Hewitt-Trussville.”