Thompson picks up 20th win of season with five-run win over Helena

Published 3:16 pm Wednesday, March 13, 2024

By Andrew Simonson

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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HELENA – Fresh off being named the No. 21 team in the country by MaxPreps, the Thompson Warriors made the short trip to Helena to face the Huskies in a battle of the lone two teams in the county to reach the state tournament in 2023.

With both teams in fine form this season, the matchup presented much intrigue, and in the end, Thompson took the 6-1 win on Tuesday, March 12 at Helena High School.

The first two innings came and went without a run as the teams settled into the matchup.

However, an error and a walk put a pair of runners on base for the Warriors to start the third inning.

Two batters later with one out, Olivia Tindell hit an RBI double to center to bring both runners home and give Thompson a 2-0 lead.

The Warriors hit a one-out single in the top of the fourth, but a pop out reduced them to two outs. Their fortunes quickly changed thanks to a hit by pitch and a walk, loading up the bases for Tindell.

The senior capitalized for the second time that day with an RBI single, giving her three RBIs through four innings and increasing the Warriors’ lead to 3-0.

Helena responded in the bottom of the frame with its first run of the game. After Presley Lively drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch during the ensuing at-bat, Emma Olive came to the plate with one out.

On the first pitch she saw, the Huskies first baseman hit a sharp grounder to center, leading to a single and scoring Lively from second to make the score 3-1.

Thompson restored its three-run lead in the top of the fifth as Laney Williams hit a first-pitch solo home run with two outs.

Now leading 4-1 after a scoreless fifth, a leadoff walk drawn by Neely Davis and a Kelsey Burden single put another pair of runners on base with no outs.

Tindell advanced both to scoring position with a first-pitch sacrifice bunt, and Dailynn Motes hit a sacrifice fly two pitches later to bring Davis home.

The next batter Kadyn Bush hit an RBI single to score Burden and cap off the scoring for the afternoon as the Warriors claimed the 6-1 win.

Aubree Hooks claimed the win with seven strikeouts across five innings, surrendering just one run, three hits and two walks in the process. Bush claimed the save with two perfect innings and three strikeouts.

Tindell ended the day 3-3 with 3 RBIs to lead the offense.

Thompson will shift its focus to area play as it travels to Vestavia Hills on Thursday, March 14 at 4:30 p.m.

As for Helena, the 18-4 Huskies will face another 7A test in the Hoover Bucs on the road on Thursday, March 14 at 5 p.m.

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