Photo courtesy of Allyson Ritenour
The Spain Park High School softball team won the Class 6A, Area 7 tournament on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at Spain Park High School in Hoover. Photo courtesy of Allyson Ritenour.
The Hoover and Spain Park high school spring sports teams are actively in the middle of playoff action.
At the Class 7A state outdoor track and field meet, the Hoover boys claimed the 7A team title with 130 points, while the girls finished second in 7A with 100 points. The Spain Park boys finished seventh in 6A. A full recap of the state meet will be published in the coming days.
Spain Park's softball team won the Class 6A, Area 7 tournament over the weekend, winning three straight games to claim the title.
The Jags began the tournament with an 11-1 win over Pelham. Allie Whitaker led the offense, going 3-for-3, with a double, a home run and four runs batted in. Abby King hit two triples and Maxie Provost threw six shutout innings. Spain Park then earned a 5-4 win over Helena, as Teagan Huey knocked in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. King and Klara Thompson hit home runs in the game as well. Jaley Young threw a complete game, striking out 10 batters.
Spain Park wrapped up the tournament with another win over Helena, this one a 4-3 win. King and Reagan Roberts homered, each driving in two runs. Mary Payton Dees and Provost combined to hold the Huskies' offense in check. The Jags will play in the regional tournament next week.
As of this writing, Hoover was in the midst of the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament.
On the baseball diamond, Spain Park swept Benjamin Russell in the second round of the 6A playoffs, winning 2-1 and 14-0 on Thursday.
In the opener, Houston Holmes was stellar, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just one run on four hits with four strikeouts. Slade Bounds had two hits including a home run. Cason Weidman got the final two outs, before the Jags walked it off in the bottom of the seventh, as Rhys Jones scored on a passed ball.
In the nightcap, Hudson Franks dominated, pitching four innings and allowing just one hit with eight strikeouts. Ryne Paquette went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Will Jacobsen went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Barrett Price drove in two runs.
Spain Park will travel to Gulf Shores for the quarterfinals, with a doubleheader set for Friday at 5 p.m. A decisive third game, if necessary, will be Saturday at 1 p.m.
On the soccer pitch, the Spain Park girls team saw its season end in the Class 6A second round last Wednesday, falling to Northridge 4-2.
