The Reset: Bucs softball grabs first area win

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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.

BASEBALL

Hoover

The Hoover baseball team began Class 7A, Area 5 play last Tuesday with a wild 13-12 win over Tuscaloosa County. The Bucs scored five runs over the last two innings to overcome the Wildcats and take the win. Jack Henry Milligan’s two-run single tied the game in the seventh and Milligan scored on an error to give the Bucs the lead for good. Milligan tallied three hits in the game and drove in four runs. Daniel Swatek struck out two in the seventh to lock down the save.

Hoover finished off the area sweep on Friday with a pair of victories over Tuscaloosa County. In the first game, the Bucs picked up an 8-1 win. Swatek drove in half the team’s runs, as he went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. He also pitched 6 1/3 innings to get the win, giving up six hits and three runs. Andrew Sasser threw a one-hit shutout and struck out 11 in a 9-0 victory in the second contest. Davis Young homered for the Bucs and Brooks Brymer drove in two runs.

Hoover celebrated its seniors on Saturday and split a doubleheader with Austin. The Bucs walked off with a 3-2 victory in eight innings on Peyton Wilson’s RBI groundout in the first game of the day. Colson Lawrence homered in the game for Hoover as well. In the second game, the Bucs fell 7-6 despite tying the game three times. Jesse Kelley homered and Wilson and Brymer each knocked in two runs.

Spain Park

In the Class 7A, Area 6 opener for both teams, the Mountain Brook baseball team knocked off Spain Park 15-7 on Tuesday evening. The game was tied at 7-7 through five innings, before the Spartans piled up eight runs over the final two frames to pull away. Colton Yeager led Mountain Brook offensively, going 2-for-4 with a double, home run, four runs batted in and three runs scored. Collin Bussman doubled and drove in three for the Spartans as well. David Stone pitched the final 3 1/3 innings for Mountain Brook in scoreless fashion to earn the win. Conner Eberhardt drove in two runs for Spain Park.

Mountain Brook pulled off the area sweep on Friday afternoon, as the Spartans walked off with a 4-3 win over Spain Park. Yeager scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 3-3 in the sixth and John Marks came across on a wild pitch in the seventh to lift Mountain Brook to the win. Harrison Ware doubled and drove home two runs for Mountain Brook, while Will Yarbro racked up three hits. John Poist homered and drove in two runs for Spain Park.

SOFTBALL

Hoover

The Hoover softball team notched a Class 7A, Area 5 victory over Oak Mountain on Wednesday afternoon, 6-5. The Bucs struck first on an Abby Fortner solo home run and Jordan Moore followed with a two-run homer in the third inning to put the Bucs ahead 3-0. Abi Brown homered for the Eagles to cut into the deficit, but Hoover put up three more runs in the fifth inning and held on despite a late surge from Oak Mountain in the final frame. For Hoover, Moore finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs. For Oak Mountain, Hannah Atwood and M’Kiyah Mitchell each had two RBIs.

Hoover traveled to Tennessee for the weekend to participate in Brentwood’s tournament. The Bucs began play on Friday with a 10-4 loss to Station Camp. Jordyn Johnson tallied three hits and Hannah Presley drove in two runs for the Bucs. They then defeated Dyer County 5-1, as Presley homered, Fortner drove in two and Madeline Harris allowed one unearned run in four innings.

The Bucs began Saturday with an 11-0 win over Graves County, as Campbell Hecklinski drove in two runs to lead the team. Brookelyn Cannon and Gia Wade combined to throw four scoreless innings. Hoover’s run came to an end in a 4-3 loss to Cookeville. Presley notched two more RBIs for the Bucs in the game.

Spain Park

The Spain Park softball team couldn’t hold on to an early lead in a 12-9 loss to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa last Tuesday. Annabelle Widra led off for the Jags and racked up five runs batted in on the game, while Maddie Majors homered and drove home three.

Spain Park fell to Male (Kentucky) 15-1 on Wednesday afternoon. Male took a 2-1 lead after four innings but blew the game open with two in the fifth and 11 runs over the final two innings.

Spain Park got back on track with an area win over Vestavia Hills on Thursday, 10-0. Widra led the charge for the Jags, as she struck out 12 in a four-hit shutout in the circle, while also going 4-for-4 at the plate with a double, home run and two RBIs. Alexis Anderson hit a double and drove in three runs, while Lydia Coleman homered. Mary Sanders James notched two hits for the Rebels.

TENNIS

The Hoover tennis teams split with Northridge last Monday. The girls won 6-3, capturing two doubles wins and four in singles. The doubles pairs of Kennedy Ward and Chinonye Mbanugo, and Angie Morales and Emma Burch emerged victorious, with Morales, Burch, Mbanugo and Arya Tamhane winning in singles. The boys fell 5-4. The No. 2 doubles pair of Zac Tucker and Isaac Hwangpo won, along with Sam Tolbert, Josh Oakman and Sid Suresh winning singles matches.

Hoover split with Briarwood on Thursday, with the girls pulling off a 5-4 win and the boys falling 7-2.

GOLF

The Spain Park boys golf team participated in the Azalea City Classic in Mobile last Monday and Tuesday, finishing fourth overall as a team. Highlighting the team’s performance was the tandem of Hayden Carner and Matt Stuart winning the best ball competition.

On Tuesday, the Spain Park girls golf team played in the Huntsville tournament at RTJ Hampton Cove. The team finished in third place, with Marilyn Steed firing a round of 72 to finish as the individual runner-up.

SOCCER

The Hoover boys soccer team earned two big wins last week over Mountain Brook, 1-0, and Oak Mountain, 2-0. Dylan Steely scored the lone goal in his team’s victory over Mountain Brook, while Nick Ibanez and Michael Dakis each netted goals in the victory over Class 7A, Area 5 opponent Oak Mountain.

The Bucs are now 12-3-2 on the season and are ranked No. 1 in the 7A state coaches’ poll. Oak Mountain is ranked second.

The Hoover girls soccer team fell to Spain Park, 3-0, and Vestavia Hills, 5-0, last week. The Lady Bucs are now 7-4-3 on the season and are ranked seventh in the 7A coaches’ poll.

Spain Park

The Spain Park girls soccer team split its games last week, blanking Hoover 3-0 and falling to Mill Creek (Ga.) 3-2. Jasmine Greene scored twice in the Lady Jags’ win over Hoover. Spain Park is now 11-3-2 on the season and is ranked third in the 7A state coaches’ poll.

The Spain Park boys soccer team fell last week to Briarwood Christian, 3-1, and Homewood, 1-0. The Jags are now 4-8-2 overall.

TRACK AND FIELD

Hoover’s Kyle Smith and John Watkins swept the invitational division of the boys triple jump at the Mobile Challenge of Champions on Saturday. Both athletes jumped 47 feet, 5.5 inches.

Spain Park’s Sydney Taylor won the 100- and 200-meter dashes on Saturday to lead the Lady Jags to a first-place team finish at their home meet, the Spain Park Invitational. The boys took second in the team standings behind event victories from Matthew Gray (shot put), Steven Pate (discus), Josh Wallace (javelin) and Jacob Warner (3,200).

— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.