North Alabama spring roundup: Hazel Green is 2-2 in softball tourney
The seventh-ranked Class 6A Trojans improved to 16-10-1 with a 6-0 shutout of Greenwood, Ky., on Saturday in the Bob Jones Tournament on Saturday. Hazel Green went 2-2 in the event, beating Greenwood of Bowling Green and Smyrna, Tenn., with losses to South Warren of Bowling Green and McCracken County of Paducah, Ky.
Junior Kailey Hyatt earned the win in the circle vs. Greenwood, allowing one hit over 2.1 innings with one strikeout. Junior Mason Quinnie finished off the Gators, giving up two hits with three strikeouts.
The Trojans exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth inning on the way to the win.
Brooklyn Howard had a two-run homer for Hazel Green and Mariah Bazile tripled and drove in three runs. Raegan Wall had a double and scored two runs on her 3-for-4 day at the plate.
In a 6-1 win over Smyrna on Thursday, Mackenzie Bowling and Sarah Snowden had triples and Bowling also doubled, along with Bazile and Howard. Bowling was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Howard and Bazile had an RBI each and Allie Cole went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
Quinnie picked up the win in the circle for the Trojans, allowing one run on no hits with a strikeout and a walk. Hyatt pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three hits and no runs with two strikeouts.
In Saturday’s 2-1 loss to South Warren, the Spartans scored single runs in the second and fourth innings and held on as Hazel Green got a run in the top of the fifth – and final – inning.
Pittner and Emma Mooney shared duties in the circle for Hazel Green, with starter Pittner giving up one earned run on three hits with a strikeout over 2.2 innings. Mooney allowed one unearned run on one hit over 2.1 innings. Mooney also had one strikeout in the loss.
Hazel Green got hits from Hyatt, Briley Zimmerman, Cole, Bazile and Bowling with Wall scoring the lone run.
McCracken rallied from behind twice in a 6-5 win over the Trojans on Saturday. Hazel Green led 3-0 after one, 4-2 after two and 5-4 headed into the bottom of the final inning before the Kentuckians pushed across two runs to win.
Hazel Green got a home run and two RBIs from losing pitcher Quinnie and Bowling doubled and drove in a run. Wall, Bazile and Pittner had a pair of hits for the Trojans.
Quinnie gave up three runs on two hits in two innings in relief of Hyatt, who struck out five and walked three and gave up two runs on one hit with three walks. Quinnie gave up a pair of home runs and Hyatt gave up one.
GIRLS
SOCCER
West Morgan 6, Whitesburg Christian 3: The No. 9 Class 4A Rebels improved to 11-7 on the year after going 2-1 in the Southern Coast Cup in Foley with the win over Whitesburg.
West Morgan led Whitesburg 5-1 at the half on Saturday. Brandy Hernandez scored a hat trick and added two assists in the win that locked up a second-place finish in the Oyster Bay Division. Diana Romero had six saves for West Morgan.
Also on Saturday, the Rebels beat Leeds 4-2 with all the goals coming in the first half. Hernandez scored all four goals. Madison Parker had two assists and Alexandra Rodriguez had one. Romero had six saves in the match.
On Friday, eventual group champion and second-ranked 4A St. John Paul II beat West Morgan 9-1, pulling away from a 4-0 halftime margin.
Hernandez scored for the Rebels off an assist from Parker. Romero registered 12 saves in the loss.
West Morgan is off this week during spring break.
BOYS
BASEBALL
Sparkman 12, Bob Jones 8: Jacob Haley went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs for the Senators in the win over No. 3 Bob Jones on Saturday at Madison. The junior also earned a save in the win.
Brandon Wilbanks went 2-for-3 with a home run for Sparkman. Easton Henderson and Nick Causey had a double each.
Carter Wells got the win, working 4.2 innings. He struck out four.
Sparkman 11, Muscle Shoals 0: Ryan Everly struck out 10, allowing two hits in his complete-game shutout for Sparkman on Saturday morning at Bob Jones.
Jacob Haley went 3-for-4 with a double. Chris Walker was 2-for-2 with a double and Easton Henderson was 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
Hartselle 17, Hamilton Southeastern (Ind.) 4: The Tigers scored in every inning except the third – with seven runs in the seventh – to rout the visitors from Fishers, Ind., on Friday.
Greyson Howard and Coleman Mizell smacked home runs and Cade Miles and Lawson Williams had doubles for second-ranked Class 6A Hartselle. The Tigers had 10 hits to seven for the visitors.
Cam Palahach was 2-for-5 with four RBIs. Howard and drove in two runs apiece for the Tigers.
Jace Meadows earned the win, throwing 89 pitches – 64 for strikes – in the seven-inning complete game. Meadows struck out five and walked one. He gave up four runs – three earned – on seven hits. Hamilton did put three of his pitches out of the park as Harrison Dilts, Ty Bradle and Chugga Rosario had home runs.
Hartselle also beat Riverdale of Murfreesboro, Tenn., 11-6 on Friday, pounding out 14 hits to eight for the visitors.
Peyton Steele and Coleman Mizell were 4-for-4 on the day. Mizell had two home runs and a double with six RBIs and four runs scored while Steele had three doubles and three RBIs. Leadoff hitter Eli Tidwell was 2-for-5 with three runs scored. Brody Leathers went 1-for-4 with three runs scored.
Steele got the win for Hartselle, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk in three innings. Tidwell finished off the Warriors to get a save, allowing four runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks in four innings.
Bob Jones 9, Muscle Shoals 4: The Patriots improve to 24-7 on the year with the win. Bob Jones – ranked third in Class 7A – got a complete-game, 11-strikeout performance from Ben Arn. The senior left-hander allowed four hits and no runs in six innings with a pair of walks.
The Patriots were 1-3 for the week with losses to Thompson (7-2), Huntsville (6-5) and Sparkman (12-8).
Jacob Pearl was the standout at the plate for Bob Jones, going 5-for-15 on the week with a triple and three RBIs with two stolen bases.
West Limestone 17, Giles County (Tenn.) 7: The Wildcats got 13 hits with six players getting extra-base knocks in the win. West Limestone improved to 18-8 on the year.
Cooper Phillips went 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs for the Wildcats. Keegan Laxson doubled for the winners. Ian Burroughs was 2-for-3 while Colin Patterson, Braxton Griffin, Landon Navas and Aidan Smith were all 2-for-4.
Phil Campbell 6-14, West Limestone 2-4: Second-ranked Class 3A Phil Campbell swept the Wildcats on Saturday.
In Game 1, Braxton Griffin doubled and drove in a run for West Limestone and Landon Navas also had an RBI in the loss.
In the nightcap, Keegan Laxon went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Aidan Smith was 1-for-2 with a run batted in.
SOCCER
Hartselle 2, St. Luke’s 1: The Class 6A Tigers topped 1A/3A No. 3 St. Luke’s in a double penalty kick shootout to capture the Southern Coast Cup at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex on Saturday.
Ethan Medendorp scored a goal in regular time for Hartselle. Jack Adams scored a pair of penalty kicks along with one each from Luke Vinson, Owen Bennich and Luke Minnon with Slate Gargus getting the title-winning kick.
Keeper Nick Vaughn allowed five of 10 penalty-kick attempts. Head coach Dan Bennich said the national average for high-school goalkeepers on penalty kicks is “around 85-95 percent.”
Earlier on Saturday, Hartselle topped Brewbacker Tech 4-1. Minnon scored a pair of goals for the Tigers. Vinson and Bennich also had goals in the win.
On Friday, Hartselle beat Foley 2-1, with Jack Adams scoring on a penalty kick. Gargus got the Tigers’ other goal.
Hartselle is 15-3-2 on the season.
Editor’s Note: To report highlights to AL.com, please email [email protected] following your games. Reports must come from coaches or team statisticians.