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Briarwood’s baseball team finished this year’s Hoover spring break tournament 2-2 to improve to 15-6 overall this season. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

HOOVER – One of the first teams to win an area championship this season from Shelby County, the Briarwood Lions continued an impressive year during the Hoover spring break tournament March 29 through April 1 by picking up two more wins.

The Lions went 2-2 during the tournament with wins against Gadsden City and Moody and losses of 4-1 and 6-1 to Helena and Auburn, respectively.

Following the 4-1 loss to the Huskies to open the tournament, Briarwood responded with a strong 8-2 victory against Gadsden City.

It took a few innings to get going, but the Lions scored the only run through four innings in the top of the third to take a 1-0 lead. They then followed with three in the fifth and four in the sixth to pull away for the six-run victory.

Samuel Hoff and Jacob Souders both finished with two hits in the win, while Hoff added two RBIs and Souders one. Brady Waugh and William Clark both finished with a hit and two RBIs in the win as well.

Brayden Heaps got the start on the mound and picked up the win after striking out seven and allowing just one run on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings of work.

That win was followed a day later by the five-run victory against Moody.

The Lions took the lead in the top of the third at 3-1, but the game didn’t come without fireworks.

The two teams went back-and-forth with the Lions leading 6-3 through four, but Moody responding with three combined in the fifth and sixth to even the score.

That led to extra innings, but Briarwood was eventually able to break the tie in the top of the ninth with a five-run effort that blew the game open for the 11-6 victory.

Clark was the leader at the plate with two hits and three RBIs, while Casen Heaps added two hits as well with one RBI. Hoff, Souders, Samuel Burr and Andrew McAdams all finished with one hit and one RBI in the win.

Casen Heaps also got the win on the mound after pitching the eighth and ninth innings and giving up no runs in that span. Drake Meeks and Souders combined for six strikeouts as the other two pitchers in the win.

Briarwood’s final game of the tournament featured a 6-1 loss to Auburn, as the Lions never could score again after a 1-1 tie in the opening inning.

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