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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Harper Looney (18) during a state tournament game on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Erin Coleman (25) during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Kylie Hendrick (1) and Felicia Gulledge during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Kylie Hendrick (1) and Felicia Gulledge during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Harper Looney (18) during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Hannah Claire Miller (15) during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 22, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Cate Bruce (1) during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 22, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Presley Hull (22) during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 22, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Harper Looney (18) during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville infield during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Harper Looney (18) celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Harper Looney (18) celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville coaches celebrate during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville coaches celebrate during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Corey Goguts (25) celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Harper Looney (18) and Corey Goguts (25) celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Harper Looney (18) and Corey Goguts (25) celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Presley Hull (22) and Harper Looney (18) celebrate during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Presley Hull (22) and Harper Looney (18) celebrate during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Harper Looney (18) wins MVP during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Harper Looney (18) and Corey Goguts (25) celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville coaches celebrate during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Chloe Krackenberger (20) celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Friday, May 22, 2026, at Jacksonville State University. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville head coach Taylor Burt during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 22, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Emily Renda (2) celebrates during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 22, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville celebrates during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Presley Hull (22) during a state tournament game on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
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Hewitt-Trussville's Hannah Claire Miller (15) during a state tournament game on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
JACKSONVILLE — Three hours of sleep and a couple cupcakes were more than enough.
It took just four pitches Friday morning for the Hewitt-Trussville High School softball team to finish off a dramatic Class 7A state tournament and win the state title.
A Thursday night downpour at Choccolocco Park in Oxford halted the decisive game with two outs in the seventh inning around 11 p.m. That forced a pivot to Jacksonville State University’s turf field on Friday morning, and the Huskies were officially state champs a little before 9 a.m.
Thursday night was a chaotic one, as the sudden heavy wind and rain prevented the teams from finishing the game. Both teams left the field soaked and scrambling to figure out accommodations as the clock neared midnight.
But Harper Looney and the Huskies were unfazed by the abrupt change in circumstances and made that overnight one-run lead hold up, as she finished off the tournament with a strikeout.
"We got into bed at like 2 a.m., ate a couple cupcakes, and then woke up at 5 a.m., got ready, got here and then finished it," Looney said.
Looney needed only one out to seal the deal, completing a brilliant three days in which she was a workhorse. She earned state MVP honors by throwing 33 innings and 447 pitches and posting a 6-0 record. That type of performance will be remembered for a long time in the program’s history books.
"That kid hasn't thrown more than 10 innings in a day all year long," Hewitt-Trussville head coach Taylor Burt said. "She was at 400-something pitches. She said yesterday after we won the last evening game, 'I want the ball, I want the ball.'”
Looney is not a high-volume strikeout pitcher, and her line reflects just one punchout in the final game. She put faith in her defense, and they held up their end of the bargain. Center fielder Corey Goguts made two diving catches reminiscent of the ones Andruw Jones made commonplace for the Atlanta Braves in the early 2000s.
Catcher Taylor McLaughlin did her part, too, hosing two would-be base stealers in the decisive game and helping nab another runner off third base.
The wet uniforms and equipment? There was not much time to wash or dry them, and the Huskies showed back up Friday morning with an odor they will forever associate with victory.
“We said this is working, we’re not changing anything,” Looney said.
The Huskies claimed the Class 7A softball state title with a 2-1 victory over Thompson, finishing one of the more remarkable tournament runs in recent memory and capping a 49-10-1 season. It was the program's fifth state championship and third in the last four years, adding to titles in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024.
"I don't think it's set in that we've won," Looney said.
The week began Wednesday with Hewitt splitting its first two games against Baker and Thompson before bouncing back to beat Central and survive the first day. The Huskies then caught fire, run-ruling Austin 14-4 and Vestavia Hills 14-4 before turning their attention back to Thompson for the championship.
In the first title game Thursday evening, Hewitt put on an offensive clinic, scoring in all five innings of an 11-0 run-rule victory. Erin Coleman and Kylie Hendrick each had two doubles and three runs batted in. Presley Hull was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Looney threw five shutout innings.
The second game was a different kind of contest altogether. Tied at 1-1 through four innings, Hewitt pushed across the go-ahead run in the fifth. Looney was dealing, protecting a 2-1 lead into the seventh, when a storm rolled in and stopped everything. Thompson's Krimson Calhoun reached on a walk with two outs, and then the rain made the decision for everyone.
The title the Huskies won in 2019 was a rain-altered tournament that was extended to a third day, but returning for only one batter made this tournament one that stands out.
"It was definitely interesting. I guess that's the best way to put it," Burt said. "Of course, I think everybody here would have wished we could have finished it up last night, but it is what it is, and sometimes you’ve got to adapt."
The offensive production across the week was a collective effort. Coleman was one of the week's most consistent performers, going 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs against Central, adding a double and two RBIs in the Austin game, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs against Vestavia Hills and contributing two doubles and three RBIs in the first championship game against Thompson.
Hull matched that production with four hits in the Austin game alone, finishing the week with multiple RBIs in every contest she started. Hendrick was equally reliable, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and four RBIs against Austin.
Goguts, who sparked the opener with a triple, a home run and two RBIs against Baker, provided a steady presence throughout the tournament, still managing to be productive despite drawing 12 walks. Chloe Krackenberger had three hits in the Vestavia Hills game. McLaughlin added two hits and two RBIs in that same contest. Emily Renda had three hits and an RBI.
Burt said the performance was a reflection of everything she had asked from her team all season.
"I don't even know that I have words, honestly," she said. "For them to come out and do what they did in game one, and just pure heart, pure fire, pure grit, things that we've been asking from them all season long. And it doesn’t matter how you start it, it matters how you finish.”
For a program that has now claimed five state titles, the hunger never seems to fade. But Burt made clear this one was different.
"I know the first one [2019] is always special, but I think this one hands down the craziest," she said.
“I’m super proud of everyone, one through 23,” Burt said.
