High school sports recap: Bucs sweep basketball titles

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Here's a look back at the last week in Hoover and Spain Park high school sports.

BASKETBALL

The Hoover boys and girls basketball teams swept the Class 7A state championships last Saturday. Click here for a recap of the girls game and click here for a recap of the boys win.

Spain Park suffered a close loss to Central-Phenix City on Thursday in the state semifinals. Click here for the story of that game.

BASEBALL

The Hoover baseball team began last week with a 13-0 blowout win over Helena. The Bucs got plenty of offensive contributions across the board. Camdyn Teague, Andrew Pitts, Samuel Schmidt and Will Lawrence each knocked in a pair of runs in the game. Colin Rengering was 2-for-2 with a double and 3 runs scored, Cade Carr was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and Caid Finn had a pair of hits, an RBi and 3 runs scored. John Mark Norris also drove in a run. Wes Carter threw 6 scoreless innings on the mound, allowing just 3 hits.

Spain Park fell to Tuscaloosa County 10-3 on Tuesday. Cole Edwards homered for the Jags, driving in a pair of runs in the game. Jacob Tobias hit a double, Matthew Widra tallied a pair of hits and James Battersby drove in a run. JR Thompson pitched well, allowing 2 runs in 4 innings with 9 strikeouts.

Hoover began play in the Perfect Game HS Showdown on Thursday, beating Sandy Creek 16-9. Mason Blasche was the offensive standout for the Bucs, going 2-for-3 with a triple and 4 RBIs. Finn and Carr each scored 3 runs, with Finn knocking a run in as well. Lawrence drove in a pair, while Pitts, RJ Hamilton and Rengering also knocked in a run. 

Hoover fell to a strong Montverde team 7-3 on Friday. Devyn Lee and Teague each drove in runs, while Blasche hit a double and scored a pair of runs. Schmidt threw 4 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits with 6 strikeouts. 

Hoover finished the event Saturday with a 13-3 win over G.W. Long. Makale Holden hit a double and knocked in a pair of runs, Finn was 4-for-5 with an RBI, and Blasche, Carr, Pitts, Jaxson Wood and Norris all drove in a run. Carter Jackman hit a double as well. Will Adams threw 5 scoreless innings, allowing a single hit with 12 strikeouts. 

Spain Park played a couple games in the Perfect Game HS Showdown on Saturday, beating Smiths Station 12-7 and knocking off Marbury 12-1. In the Smiths Station win, Battersby had a big game, going 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of RBIs. Evan Smallwood, Tobias, Clay Spencer, Widra, Thompson and Aiden Berke each tallied an RBI as well. Against Marbury, Edwards drove in 3, while Spencer was 3-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs. Smallwood, Tobias, Jack Kendrick and Battersby all drove in runs as well. Thompson registered a pair of hits. Lucas Thornton was strong on the mound, allowing an unearned run on a pair of hits in 5 innings. 

SOFTBALL

The Hoover and Spain Park softball teams renewed their rivalry game last Tuesday, with Spain Park beating Hoover 5-4 in walk-off fashion. Spain Park’s Charlee Bennett hit the game-winning double in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Caroline Charles to lift the Jags.

Maggie Daniel provided all of the Spain Park offense to that point, as she hit a pair of 2-run home runs in the game. Hoover tied the game on separate occasions, the first time on Hannah Christian’s 2-run double and the second time on Mac Stribling’s run-scoring hit in the sixth inning. Both starting pitchers performed well, as Spain Park’s Ella Ussery allowed 3 runs on 6 hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out 5. Hoover’s Kaitlyn Raines went 6 1/3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits with 9 strikeouts. Ella Reed pitched in relief for the Jags, surrendering an unearned run in 2 2/3 innings. 

Hoover played in the Sidney Cooper Round Robin over the weekend, hosted by Central-Phenix City at Jacksonville State University. On Friday, the Bucs swept a doubleheader with Central to kick things off, winning 9-3 and 2-0. In the first game, Bella Foran was a homer shy of the cycle, talling 3 hits and 3 RBIs. Emily Sims was 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs, while Carolyne Hecklinski had a pair of hits and drove in a run. Raines threw 4 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits with 5 strikeouts. Central’s Gerritt Griggs was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

In the second game, the Bucs earned a low-scoring win. Central’s Bri Murray went the distance, allowing the 2 runs over 7 innings of work. 

Spain Park played in the Wetumpka Tournament over the weekend. The Jags began things by winning both games Friday, as they toppled Benjamin Russell 10-2 and beat Southside 4-1. In the first game, Reagan Stewart led the offense by going 3-for-3 with 5 RBIs. Katie Flannery was 3-for-3 with a double and 3 runs scored. Bennett and Daniel each drove in a pair of runs. Ussery threw 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. In the Southside win, Reed allowed just a run on 3 hits in 4 innings, registering 6 strikeouts. 

Spain Park finished up play Saturday, beating Gulf Shores 9-0 to start the day before falling to Vestavia Hills 3-2. In the win, Flannery went 3-for-3 with a double, a pair of homers and 3 RBIs. Stewart and Charles each had 2 hits and an RBI. Reed pitched 4 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits with 5 strikeouts. In the loss, Flannery homered and Ussery threw 5 innings, allowing a pair of unearned runs.

Hoover finished up play in the event with a 5-0 win over Sardis on Saturday. Hecklinski racked up a pair of hits and an RBI. Raines, Sims and Olivia Christian combined to throw a no-hitter over the 7 innings. Raines struck out 8 batters in 3 innings to lead the way.

SOCCER

The Hoover girls soccer team improved to 7-0-0 with a 1-0 win over Mountain Brook last Tuesday. Julie Cooke scored the lone goal in the first half, with Hoover’s defense keeping a clean sheet. Spain Park’s boys beat Pinson Valley 10-0 as well. 

Spain Park’s girls beat Thompson 2-0 on Thursday.

On Friday, Hoover’s boys beat Vestavia Hills 3-2 and Spain Park’s boys fell to Thompson 4-2.  

Spain Park’s girls fell to Vestavia Hills 6-2 on Saturday.

TENNIS

The Hoover boys and girls tennis teams swept Oak Mountain 9-0 last Tuesday in section play.

GOLF

The Spain Park girls golf team finished third at Highland Oaks in Dothan last Monday. Emma Fortier led the team by shooting a 2-over par round of 74, finishing as the individual runner-up.

Hoover’s boys finished sixth of 18 teams at the Patriot Open last week. The Bucs shot 307 each day. Cameron Rockett was even par both days, good enough for fourth place individually.

Spain Park’s Chase Kyes was the low medalist at the ACA Patriot Open. The win is his second of the season and seventh of his career.

TRACK AND FIELD

The Hoover and Spain Park outdoor track and field teams competed in the Husky March Classic at Hewitt-Trussville over the weekend. 

For Hoover, Gabrielle Washington won the 400-meter dash in 56.2 seconds. Amyah Ellington won the 300-meter hurdles in 46.87 seconds and Laurin Mack won long jump by reaching 16 feet, 5 inches. 

Also reaching the podium for the girls were Taylor Canada (second in 200-meter dash), McKenzie Blackledge (second in 400), Daisy Luna (third in 400), Nyel Settles (third in high jump), Mack (second in triple jump) and Nicolette Lewis (third in discus).

On the boys side, Jordan Woolen won the 200 in 22.22 seconds. Jay Avery was victorious in long jump, reaching 23-8.75. 

DeMarion Gardner (third in 400), RJ Torbor (second in 110 hurdles), Connor White (second in pole vault), Collin Pate (third in pole vault), George Mann (third in javelin), Jordan Norman (second in shot put) and Michael Nixon (third in shot put) also reached the podium.

For Spain Park, Zachary Erickson won the discus competition with a throw of 135-1. Keith Warner reached the podium with a third-place finish in the 1,600. 

BOWLING

The high school bowling all-state teams were released last week. Spain Park’s Michael Kimble, Luke Eaton and Ethan Lee were named to the overall first team, with Liam Hilson and Luke Mitchell named to the overall second team. Kimble was named the boys bowler of the year for the entire state.

Lee, Eaton, Mitchell and Kimble were also named Class 6A-7A first team all-state.

WRESTLING

Three of Spain Park's senior wrestlers were invited to participate in the Alabama Wrestling Coaches Association North-South All-Star Dual, which was held Saturday at Huntingdon College in Montgomery.  The wrestlers selected to represent Spain Park were Jackson Mitchell, Will Conlon and Rayshod Burts.

At 170 pounds, the match was tied at 1-1 when Aiden Knight got a buzzer-beating takedown to win over Mitchell in a 3-1 decision.

With the North All-Stars trailing 25-15, at 182 pounds, Conlon turned things around for the North, gaining bonus points with an 11-1 major decision over Savian Graham.

The North won the next two matches to tie the team score at 25-25. At 285 pounds,  Burts decisioned Markel Nicholson 5-3 to give the North the victory.

Want to see something else mentioned? Feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnesmedia.com.