By Joshua Huff, sports editor
HOOVER — The Hewitt-Trussville softball team returned to the field on Tuesday following a nearly two-week long absence without any signs of rust as the Huskies’ offense retained its groove during an 11-3 victory over Class 7A Hoover.
Hewitt-Trussville had not played a scheduled game since going 3-0 on Feb. 21 in the Sidney Cooper Invitational, which ushered in a new season for the Class 7A reigning champs.
Photo by Joshua Huff
In that tournament, the Huskies’ offense recorded 34 hits, six doubles, 10 home runs with 31 runs scored. The offense fed off of a pitching staff that recorded a combined .375 earned run average, allowed just 15 hits, two runs, one earned run, struck out 19 and walked just five.
Head coach Taylor Burt’s squad took to the Hoover Met sports complex on Tuesday to face a Hoover team fresh off a 5-0 victory over Pelham.
Without missing a beat, the Huskies exploded for 16 hits and were anchored on the mound by Kaitlyn Hughes’ four innings of two-hit softball.
Hewitt-Trussville was on the verge of a run-ruling the Bucs in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs leading 10-0, but a Hoover two runs batted in triple extended the game into the evening.
The Huskies were led at the plate by Kenleigh Cahalan’s four RBI and one home run. She went 3-for-4 in the game. Crystal Maze recorded three hits; Jenna Lord and Madi Mitchell added two hits apiece, and Hannah Dorsett inked an RBI on two hits with one triple.
“The goal is to continue to build our program,” Burt said prior to the start of the season. “We want to set a standard here starting with our fifth and sixth graders all the way up so that they know what to expect and they know what our goal is. I also think getting a taste of what that feels like has made the girls, including myself work that much harder.”
With the win, Hewitt-Trussville now sits at 4-0-1. In 24 innings, the Huskies have hit 11 home runs with 42 runs scored.
Hoover has not defeated Hewitt-Trussville since a 3-1 victory on March 2, 2016.
