By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — It’s playoff time again.
The Hewitt-Trussville baseball team will host Class 6A, Area 11 runner-up Vestavia Hills on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Phil English Field for the first round of the state playoffs.
A third game, if necessary, will be Saturday.
The Huskies, the Class 6A, Area 12 champions for the second consecutive season, defeated Vestavia Hills 5-0 and 7-2 in the second round of last year’s playoffs.
Hewitt-Trussville head coach Jeff Mauldin said the Rebels have good left-handed pitching and more experience under second-year head coach Tommy Walker.
“It’s not the easiest first round opponent that some people may have, but it is the playoffs and this is what the playoffs are about, playing the best people in the state,” Mauldin said.
Like Hewitt-Trussville, Vestavia Hills has played one of the toughest schedules in Class 6A. The Huskies and Rebels have both faced Grissom, Hartselle, Buckhorn, Hazel Green, Huntsville, Bob Jones, Sparkman, Pelham, Homewood and Briarwood.
The winner of this weekend’s series faces the winner of the Mountain Brook-Gardendale series next weekend in the second round.
It’s playoff time, but Hewitt-Trussville’s style will remain the same. The opponents will be approached the same way.
“Our mindset will not change,” Mauldin said. “We play every game like it’s the most important game of the season.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.