Sarah Finnegan
Spain Park fans cheer during a Class 7A Northwest Regional final game between Spain Park and Mountain Brook on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville.
Over the course of the year, the Hoover Sun will keep you up to date on the various Hoover and Spain Park high school athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.
BASKETBALL
Hoover
The Hoover boys and girls basketball teams have made playoff runs over the past two weeks. The Hoover boys saw their season end on Feb. 13 in the Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinals, as the Bucs fell to Sparkman 61-47. Click here for a recap of the game.
The Bucs finished the season with a 22-11 record.
The Lady Bucs are still alive, in pursuit of a state championship repeat. The girls rolled past Huntsville 70-24 on Feb. 13 in the regional semifinals, and followed that up with a 70-32 blowout of Gadsden City in the regional final. Click here for a recap of that game.
This Thursday, Hoover takes on Central-Phenix City in the state semifinals. The game is set for 9 a.m. at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena. The winner plays in the state final on Saturday afternoon.
Spain Park
The Spain Park boys and girls basketball teams have also been involved in recent playoff games. The Spain Park girls picked up a 64-29 win over Florence on Feb. 13 in the Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinals. Spain Park's boys also won that day, knocking off Austin 60-46. Click here for a recap of both games.
Last Tuesday, the boys team saw its season end at the hands of area foe and three-time defending state champion Mountain Brook, 41-34, in the regional final. Click here for a recap of that game.
The Jags finished the season with a 20-13 record.
The Lady Jags also played an area foe in the regional final, but they picked up a 42-37 win over Vestavia Hills. Click here for a recap of that game.
This Thursday, Spain Park faces McGill-Toolen at noon in the state semifinals at the BJCC's Legacy Arena. The winner plays in the final on Saturday afternoon.
WRESTLING
The high school wrestling season came to an end on Feb. 15 at the state tournament. In Class 7A, Hoover finished fourth with 58 points, while Spain Park was sixth with 46 points. Hoover’s Nick Smith won the 120-pound division, while Spain Park’s Jaxon Bast won the 285-pound division.
Look for extended coverage of the state tournament in the April edition of Hoover Sun.
BASEBALL
Hoover
The Hoover baseball team has won its first four games of the season. Last Monday, the Bucs dominated a doubleheader sweep of Auburn, winning 9-3 and 11-1. In the first game, Avery Anderson threw three innings, allowing four hits and no runs. In the second game, Robby Ashford had a triple and four RBIs to support Colson Lawrence, who threw five innings and gave up just one hit.
On Saturday, the Bucs hosted two teams from Georgia, beating Marist 3-2 and defeating Lassiter 12-2. In the first game, Davis Young homered, while Lawrence pitched a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win. In the win over Lassiter, Lucas Steele homered and drove in three runs. Ashford and Colby Davis each knocked in a pair of runs. Cody Crain surrendered an unearned run in three innings of work.
Spain Park
The Spain Park baseball team is off to a 3-2 start on the season. On Feb. 15, the Jags began the season with a doubleheader sweep, notching an 8-1 win over Prattville and a 13-4 victory over Chelsea. In the win over Prattville, the Jags busted out for seven runs in the eighth inning to run away with the victory. Colton Ledbetter homered, Conner Eberhardt drove in two runs and Linden Samaha and Jaxson Lucas combined to hold Prattville to just one run.
Last Monday, Spain Park split a doubleheader at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park. In a 7-0 win over James Clemens, Ledbetter went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and two RBIs. Carter Sidor and Adam Wygle each tallied two hits and two RBIs. Eli Copenhaver went four innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four. The Jags also lost to Austin 9-2.
Last Wednesday, the Jags fell to Gardendale 5-1. Lucas was solid, allowing one hit and no runs in 3 1/3 innings.
SOFTBALL
Hoover
The Hoover softball team is 2-2 to start the season. The Bucs picked up a 15-3 win over Homewood on Feb. 14 to kick things off. In the game, Brookelyn Cannon stood out in the circle and at the plate. She pitched four innings, allowing no runs on just one hit while striking out eight. She also hit two home runs and drove in four runs. Jordan Moore homered and drove in two, Atira McGowan had a double and three RBIs, Hannah Presley registered a double and two RBIs, and Emily Sims was 2-for-3 with two RBIs while throwing two innings as well.
Hoover played three games in Thompson’s Presidents’ Day Invitational last Monday, winning one of them. In a 13-2 win over Chelsea, Moore was 3-for-4 with a double, home run and three RBIs. Katie Norris also tallied a double, homer and three RBIs. Presley homered and knocked in two as well. Freshman Gracie Hillman was 3-for-3 in a 4-0 loss to Brookwood. The Bucs also fell to Helena 3-1.
Spain Park
The Spain Park softball team is off to a strong 8-0 start to the season. The Jags began the year with three wins in the Thompson Presidents’ Day Invitational. They knocked off Mortimer Jordan 3-0 and Helena 5-1 on Feb. 15. In the first game, Alexis Anderson doubled and drove in three runs, while Annabelle Widra allowed two hits and no runs with six strikeouts in four innings. In the Helena win, Anderson drove in two more runs. Lydia Coleman, Lindsay Parker and Mackenzie Thompson all knocked in a run, while Katherine Brown allowed just one run in four innings.
Last Monday, Spain Park beat Prattville 8-2. Thompson and Chloe Brittain each homered and drove in three runs.
Last weekend, the Jags ran through the Leeds Greenwave Classic, winning all five of their games to win the tournament. On Friday, they shut out Oak Mountain 6-0 and White Plains 2-0. In the Oak Mountain win, Maggie Daniel hit her first varsity home run and drove in two runs, Taylor Harrington and Anderson each knocked in two runs, and Widra dominated, as she allowed one hit and struck out 10 in four innings. In the win over White Plains, Ella Reed went four innings, also allowing just one hit with 10 strikeouts.
Spain Park won three games on Saturday, beginning with an 8-0 win over White Plains. Widra homered twice in the game and Reed threw three more scoreless innings. In a 5-1 win over Pell City, Anderson drove home two runs. Widra hit a home run and allowed just one hit in four innings of work with nine strikeouts. Widra homered yet again in the 4-1 win over Vestavia Hills in the tournament final. Thompson knocked in a pair of runs and Reed allowed one unearned run in four innings.
SOCCER
Hoover
The Hoover boys soccer team dominated the Lakeshore Shootout, winning the platinum division over the weekend of Feb. 14-15. Hoover grabbed a 7-0 win in the first match of the tournament and defeated Homewood 3-0 on the first day.
Hoover ended the Lakeshore Shootout with a tie with Norcross from Georgia. The 1-1 tie did not hurt the Bucs’ standing, as they finished in first place.
The Bucs made their one match of the week last week worthwhile with an impressive win over Auburn. The Bucs won 4-1 on Wednesday ahead of a three-match week this upcoming week.
The Lady Bucs defeated James Clemens in the season opener on Feb. 13, 4-1, and then lost to Hewitt-Trussville 1-0 on Feb. 14.
The Lady Bucs were perfect last week with two wins. Hoover downed Carrollton (Ga.) 3-0 on Wednesday before holding on to beat Homewood 3-2 on Friday. The Lady Bucs have moved to 3-1 on the season after avenging last week’s loss.
Spain Park
The Spain Park boys soccer team earned a win and a loss during the week of Feb. 10. The Jaguars won on Feb. 11 against Pelham 3-0 then lost on Feb. 13 at Thompson 3-0. The freshman team went 1-2 at the Lakeshore Shootout Feb. 14-15.
The girls team fell 3-2 to Norcross in Georgia on Feb. 15 and then lost to Gadsden City in a close 1-0 contest last Tuesday.
TENNIS
Hoover’s boys tennis teams started on the right foot over the weekend of Feb. 8-9 with a 9-0 win at Gulf Shores High School. Every doubles team won its match by an 8-0 score. The Bucs’ one through five seeds finished singles matches by an 8-0 score en route to the sweep.
The Hoover girls followed suit with a 9-0 sweep at Gulf Shores. Five girls finished with 8-0 wins in singles matches to carry the Lady Bucs to the win.
The boys continued their winning ways with a 7-2 victory over Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa last Wednesday. The Bucs moved to 4-0 on the young season after the win.
The Lady Bucs also took out Hillcrest in a 9-0 sweep to earn the team win. The Lady Bucs sit at 3-0.
The Spain Park boys tennis team added a team win to its resume with a 6-3 win over Mountain Brook last Wednesday. Spain Park moved to 4-1 on the season with the win. The Jaguars had two matches canceled during the week due to inclement weather.
GOLF
The Spain Park boys golf team earned a runner-up finish in the 2020 David Miller Memorial tournament on Feb. 17-18. Chase Kyes was medalist, as he shot a 74 before entering a playoff. He defeated four other individuals to earn medalist honors.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
