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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – The Helena Huskies picked up another pair of wins over top opponents as they defeated the Curry Yellow Jackets and Hatton Hornets at the Jag Classic in Hoover on Saturday, March 9.

Helena went 2-1 at the tournament as it improved to 18-3 on the season ahead of a pair of matchups with Class 7A teams.

The Huskies started the day against Curry, which has already taken down multiple top sides from higher classifications despite being a Class 4A team.

A passed ball with two outs in the top of the first put Helena on the board with a 1-0 lead.

While the second inning came and went without a run, Hannah Steele hit a two-out RBI single to double the lead.

From there, Hayden Traywick remained in control in the circle. She finished the game with three strikeouts against just two hits and no walks as she shut down the Curry offense.

Her shutout performance across a five-inning complete game gave Helena the 2-0 victory.

The Huskies then kept rolling in their second game of the tournament against the Hatton Hornets.

After a one-two-three top of the first, Helena capitalized in the bottom half of the frame off a wild pitch and took a 1-0 lead.

Emma Olive doubled the advantage to lead off the bottom of the second with a solo home run.

Presley Lively’s triple to kick off the bottom of the third started up the offense for the Huskies. Gracie Storey followed it up with an RBI double to increase the lead to three.

On the next at bat, Hannah Steele hit a two-run home run to make the lead 5-0 after three innings.

Helena continued to hold Hatton scoreless throughout the game and had another chance to extend the lead before the matchup ended.

With one on and one out in the bottom of the fifth, Olive hit into a groundout, but an error on the Hornets first baseman allowed Steele to cross home plate and make the final score 6-0.

Harley Morrison took the win with three shutout innings, earning one strikeout against one hit and no walks.

The Huskies finished the tournament with a 2-0 loss to East Limestone, which was just their third loss of the year.

Helena will have a pair of tough tests ahead of it during the week, hosting the Thompson Warriors on Tuesday, March 12 at 4:30 p.m. before traveling to Hoover to face the Bucs on Thursday, March 14 at 5 p.m.