By Kyle Parmley
TRUSSVILLE – Hewitt-Trussville mounted a furious rally but came up just short.
The Class 7A top-ranked Huskies (14-2) trailed Vestavia Hills 5-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but did not go down without a fight in the team’s first Area 6 contest Tuesday night at Phil English Field.
After the first out was recorded, five straight Huskies reached base. Ed Johnson was hit by a pitch and Grayson Cash singled to bring up senior third baseman Carter Pharis.
Pharis, a UAB signee, struck the hardest hit ball of the inning. He jumped on a pitch, sending it down the line in left field and bouncing a few feet short of the wall. The double scored Johnson and sent Cash to third. Cash scored a few pitches later on a wild pitch, sliding in safely under the tag from the pitcher.
“I was just trying to get Cash in scoring position,” Pharis said. “What you have to do is go base-to-base and grind out at-bats and hopefully get a pitch to drive to the outfield.”
Cyle Moore and Jamison Stennis followed with walks to load the bases and put the potential game-winning run at first base. Quin Jackson stepped to the plate, but grounded into the fourth Hewitt-Trussville double play of the evening to end the game, giving Vestavia Hills the 5-3 victory.
Despite only scoring a single run through the first six innings, there was never a thought in the Husky dugout that the game was out of reach.
“I think any time we are in a game, we have a chance,” Pharis said. “That’s our mindset. We thought we were in it the whole time.”
Austin Brewster got the start for Hewitt-Trussville, and endured a rough first inning in which he gave up three runs and home run to J.D. Gann. He settled in afterward to throw six innings, allowing four earned runs on only three hits. He was effectively wild, walking six but also striking out six.
Miscues from the Huskies allowed the Rebels to tack on additional runs in the fifth and seventh innings.
The loss represents only the second defeat of the season for the Huskies, but the setback is magnified in area play. Area 6 features Mountain Brook and Spain Park along with the Huskies and Rebels, all traditionally tough teams, and only the top two finishers in the area will move on to postseason play. With only six total area games, each game is extremely important.
“It humbles us,” Pharis said of the loss. “Last time we lost, we got on a long winning streak. But they were a very good team tonight.”
Also on Tuesday, Pharis and Moore were recognized by Perfect Game USA as part of the honorable mention list of the Southeast Region All High School Team. Pharis was caught off guard by the news, but was thankful nonetheless.
“I think it’s an honor,” he said. “There are a lot of great players on that list. I’m very blessed. Cyle is a great player, too, and we are honored to be there with all the other players.”
Hewitt-Trussville returns to the diamond Thursday to complete the series with Vestavia Hills.