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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

ALABASTER – The Helena Huskies picked up a pair of statement wins on Saturday, March 16 as they defeated the Thompson Warriors 3-1 at the Warriors’ ballpark before downing the Hazel Green Trojans later in the day.

Helena got going early with a one-out double by Jarret Scott followed by an RBI single by Reece Mims to open up a 1-0 lead.

The Huskies held that one-run advantage until the bottom of the second when Thompson capitalized on a Helena miscue to get on the board.

An error during Alex Jones’ at-bat followed by a Hayden Craycraft single put a pair of runners on for Braydon Smith, who grounded into a fielder’s choice that tied the game at 1-1.

The game remained tied through the end of the fifth inning as the pitchers and defenses settled into a tight battle. However, the Huskies had the last word.

Braydon Kendrick drew a leadoff walk in the top of the six and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. That put him in scoring position for Davis Kelley, and an error on his at-bat allowed Kendrick to score and give Helena the 2-1 lead.

With two outs in the top of the seventh, Mims doubled that lead with a solo shot to left, making the final score 3-1 as the Huskies held the Warriors scoreless the rest of the way.

Mims finished the game 2-4 with two RBIs and a run to lead the offense.

Brayden Dockery nearly went the distance for Helena as he earned the win with 6.2 innings of work and a pair of strikeouts. He didn’t allow any earned runs while working his way around six hits, two walks and an unearned run.

D’Marion Terrell had six strikeouts in six innings on the other end of the result while allowing one earned run, three hits, four walks and an unearned run.

In their second and last game of the day in Alabaster, the Huskies took on Hazel Green and engaged in a high-scoring battle.

Ty Stricklin scored the first run of the game for Helena after turning a leadoff walk into a run thanks to a pair of wild pitches.

However, the Trojans responded and took a 3-1 lead off an RBI sacrifice bunt and a two-run home run on back-to-back pitches.

The Huskies put a pair of runners on in the top of the second off a Hayden Berry single and Samuel Odom double, and both Berry and courtesy runner Brett Cannon came home on wild pitches to tie the game up at 3-3.

The next two innings came and went without a run, but with one on and one out in the top of the fifth, Kendrick stepped up to the plate and delivered big.

Kendrick homered on a 1-1 pitch to plate two runs and give his team a 5-3 lead.

The Huskies allowed the bases to fill up in the bottom of the frame off a pair of walks and an error, and Hazel Green erased the deficit with a two-run single to make the game tied again at 5-5.

However, that was the closest the Trojans would get as Helena scored four straight runs from there.

Following a one-out walk drawn by Stricklin in the top of the sixth, Scott and Mims once again stepped up when it mattered most.

Scott hit an RBI single after Stricklin stole second to take a 6-5 lead. Then, after Scott stole a base of his own, Mims singled to left and an error allowed him to reach second and Scott to come home.

Taking a 7-5 lead into the top of the seventh, the Huskies weren’t finished. Kelly was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Berry brought him home soon after on an RBI triple. Berry then came home during a groundout to make the lead 9-5.

The Trojans cut the deficit to two on the final batter of the game after a bases loaded jam turned into a pair of unearned runs off an error. Carson Acker then finished the job with back-to-back strikes to earn his fourth strikeout in two innings and the 9-7 win.

Mims finished the game 3-4 and Berry went 2-3 with two runs, an RBI and a walk.

Helena will honor its seniors in its next game for Senior Night on Monday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. against Hueytown.