By Erik Harris, sports editor
TRUSSVILLE — Matt Miller pummeled the ball on a rainy Thursday night as his second-ranked Hewitt-Trussville Huskies tore past their long-lost rival.
After going four years without playing, the baseball version of Paws and Claws was renewed on Thursday with Hewitt-Trussville beating Clay-Chalkville 10-0 in five innings.
Miller ended things in the home-half of the fifth, launching his third run-scoring double into left field for the 10-run cushion his team needed. The junior said he spent some time working on hitting inside pitches leading up to the contest, and his efforts paid dividends.
Miller doubled in the first, second and fifth innings to finish with a game-high four RBIs for the Huskies (15-2). All three of his RBI doubles went to the left side.
As a team, Hewitt-Trussville sent four runs across in the first inning and two apiece in the second, third and fifth to finish things off. Junior right-hander Riley Quick took full advantage of the heavy run support.
“I know that if I go out there and do my job on the mound, they’re definitely going to do their job at the plate and I know they’ve got my back in the infield,” said Quick.
Quick recovered from an early shot to the head on his first at-bat and went on to pitch a complete game shutout. He finished with 11 strikeouts and allowed only three Clay-Chalkville hits.
“They’re a really good team, but we just came out ready to play,” said Quick following his first-career outing against the Cougars. “I try to come out as focused as I can in the first, but I would say my second and third on are my best innings.”
Quick and the Huskies will compete in a spring break tournament in the Mobile area next week.