By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

March 28

Helena drops game to Corner to start tourney

The Helena Huskies took on Corner at 9 a.m. Monday morning in the first game of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Buccaneer Classic for any county team, losing to the Yellow Jackets by a 6-3 final. Helena scored all three of its runs in the first inning, taking a 3-2 lead into the second inning via runs from Jameson Ling, Brooks Brophy and Kade Jones. However, Corner scored two runs in the first, second and seventh innings to beat the Huskies 6-3 in the opening game. Brooks Freeman and Brett Walton both took the mound for Helena in the losing effort.

 

Spain Park handles Moody

In the Jaguars first game of the tournament, Spain Park beat the 5A Blue Devils 7-4. The Jags scored four runs in the bottom of the first and three more in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-0 lead early. Moody scored four runs over the final three innings, but could not dig out of the sizeable hole Spain Park put the Blue Devils in early as the Jags eventually won easily. Six different Jaguars had a hit a during the game, and Drew Hawker combined with Justin McClure from the mound to get the opening win.

 

Oak Mountain beats Corner in tight game

Gene Hurst took the mound for the Eagles in their first game of the tournament and never relinquished his post, throwing seven complete innings while allowing just four hits and no runs as Oak Mountain beat Corner 2-0. Hurst’s banner day from the mound was imperative in Oak Mountain’s win, as the Eagles only mustered two hits in the game, one from Ethan Holsembeck and one from John McDonald.

 

Pelham falls to Moody

Moody scored two runs in the second and seventh innings along with a single run in the third, fifth and sixth innings, beating Pelham by a 7-2 final at Hoover High School. Pelham scored both their runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the comeback attempt fell flat as the Panthers couldn’t muster enough offense. Cole Thompson went 2-for-3 from the plate to lead Pelham, while Connor Christian and Nick McMillan combined to throw seven complete innings and gave up just two earned runs cumulatively in the game.

 

Helena bounces back, beats Oak Mountain

After dropping the first game of the day, the Huskies bounced back to beat Oak Mountain by a 6-1 final to push both teams’ tournament records to 1-1 after the first day. The Huskies scored all six of their runs in the first four innings and rode Richard Fitts for seven complete innings from the mound. Fitts threw 114 pitches over the course of the game, giving up nine hits and one run in the winning effort. Troy Cordrey led Helena from the plate with a 2-for-3 performance. Joseph Hartsfield took the mound first for the Eagles and was relived by Spencer Hughes in the sixth inning.

 

Spain Park rallies to beat Austin in extras

After falling behind 4-0 to Austin in the Jaguars’ second game of the day, Spain Park scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game, eventually forcing extra innings and winning 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth.

Austin scored two runs in the fourth and fifth innings before the Jaguars combined for five hits as well as a pair of walks in the bottom of the fifth en route to four runs, tying the game at 4-4. After neither team could muster a run in the next two innings, the game headed to extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kevin Hopkins took the third pitch of the inning to left field for a double, and was eventually brought home from third when Hunter Howell singled with one out, giving Spain Park the 5-4 win and moving the Jags to 2-0 in the tourney.

Jake Whitehead and Nic Carra combined to get the win from the mound for the Jaguars.

 

Pelham loses to Austin

The Panthers took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning against Austin in the final Monday game for the county teams, but couldn’t stay in front for long, losing their second game of the day via a 4-1 final. Six different Panthers registered hits on the day, and Kasey Clark pitched a complete six-inning game from the mound for Pelham in the losing effort as the Panthers fell to 0-2 in the tournament.