By Joshua Huff, sports editor
HOOVER — The Hewitt-Trussville softball team finished as runner-up in the 2020 Spain Park Classic following a weekend where the Huskies’ offense exploded for 42 runs in just six games.
Hewitt-Trussville went 5-1 in the weekend tournament. Its lone loss came in a national top 10 matchup against No. 8 Spain Park in the tournament championship game on Saturday afternoon at Spain Park.
Hewitt-Trussville softball head coach Taylor Burt. Photo by Joshua Huff.
The Huskies and the Jaguars sit No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 poll. Those rankings are submitted by NFCA member coaches. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality and strength of schedule.
In the championship game against the undefeated Jaguars, Hewitt-Trussville fell behind from the onset as Spain Park jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning behind early home runs from Lindsay Parker and Maggie Daniel. The Huskies, however, responded with three runs in the top of the fourth inning to cut into the deficit.
Spain Park would proceed to fend off the Huskies to claim the tournament crown.
Hewitt-Trussville earned its berth into the championship game after it went 5-0 in bracket play with opening day victories over Boaz and Hillcrest (Tuscaloosa). The Huskies won those two games with a combined score of 17-1.
The Huskies turned to Saturday with three victories to begin the day. They defeated Brookwood, Dothan and Pisgah to claim their spot in the championship game. In those three games, Hewitt-Trussville won by a combined score of 22-3.
In fact, in the six games throughout this week, the Huskies scored 42 runs on 51 hits. Hewitt-Trussville recorded eight doubles, one triple with nine home runs. Katelyn Murphy set the tone at the plate for the Huskies as the junior had nine hits, with one double and a home run to go along with seven runs scored. Abigail Dorsett followed with six hits, while Kenleigh Cahalan recorded seven hits with one home run.
Riley Tyree added seven hits with one home run; Anyce Harvey and Hannah Dorsett ended the tournament with six hits and two doubles each.
On the mound, the Huskies allowed just eight earned runs with 15 strikeouts in 26 innings. Kaitlyn Hughes led the charge with 14 innings pitched, nine strikeouts and just three runs allowed. Tori Hide followed with no runs allowed in five innings of work.
Hewitt-Trussville now sits at 9-1-1 on the season, which is its best start since opening the 2015 season 14-0. The Huskies are on course to conclude their third consecutive season with 40-plus wins.
In 50 innings this season, the Huskies have hit 20 home runs with 84 runs scored.
