The Reset: Basketball heads to final four, Ortis wins, spring sports begin
Over the course of the year, Village Living will keep you up to date on the various Mountain Brook High School athletic teams. To see previous weekly updates, click here.
BASKETBALL
The Mountain Brook boys basketball team punched its ticket to the state final four for the seventh time in the last eight years, notching a 41-34 victory over Spain Park last Tuesday in the Class 7A Northwest Regional final. Click here for a recap of that game.
On Feb. 13, the Spartans beat Florence 67-48 in the regional semifinal. Click here for a recap from that game.
This Thursday at 1:30 p.m., Mountain Brook faces Fairhope at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena in the 7A semifinals, as the Spartans are gunning for their fourth consecutive state championship. The winner plays in the final on Saturday afternoon.
WRESTLING
The Mountain Brook wrestling team finished the season at the Class 7A state tournament on Feb. 15, with the Spartans finishing in fifth as a team, scoring 53 points. Gray Ortis won the 138-pound title.
Look for extended coverage of the wrestling state tournament in the April edition of Village Living.
BASEBALL
The Mountain Brook baseball team is off to a 4-1 start to the season. The Spartans began the year with a 3-1 win over Gardendale on Feb. 15. Alex Gauld drove in two runs, while Edward Berry and Porter Phelan combined to throw five scoreless innings.
Last Wednesday, the Spartans outlasted Oak Mountain 6-5 in 10 innings. David Stone pitched two scoreless innings on the mound to earn the win, while also producing the game-winning sacrifice fly. Davis White also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the game.
On Friday, Thompson beat Mountain Brook 3-2 in eight innings. Berry was sharp on the mound, allowing just two hits and an unearned run over 6 2/3 innings, while striking out 13.
On Saturday, Mountain Brook swept a doubleheader, beating John Carroll 12-2 and Clay-Chalkville 11-2. In the John Carroll win, Harrison Hodges hit a home run, while he, Will Yarbro and Beau Hubbard each drove in two runs. Curt Gann pitched six innings, giving up six hits and two unearned runs. Against Clay-Chalkville, White notched three hits and three RBIs, Braxton Wetzler had a double and two RBIs and Brennan Holden earned the win with 3 1/3 innings on the mound.
SOFTBALL
The Mountain Brook softball team has dropped its first four games of the season. The Spartans began the season last weekend at the John Carroll Kick-off Classic at Hoover Central.
On Friday, the Spartans fell to Cullman 7-2 and to Springville 12-0. On Saturday, Mountain Brook fell to Gardendale 7-2 and dropped a 5-4 game to Decatur.
SOCCER
The Mountain Brook boys soccer team had an up-and-down weekend with a win, tie and a loss at the Lakeshore Shootout on Feb. 14-15. The Spartans tied the first match with Albertville, with neither team finding the back of the net. After the tie, the Spartans had a 3-0 win over Lake Oconee out of Georgia.
In the Lakeshore Shootout finale, the Spartans fell to Oak Mountain by a 1-0 score.
The boys grinded out a 1-0 win over Sparkman in their only match of the week last Monday. Mountain Brook controlled the ball for most of the contest with multiple shots on the goal. The Spartans hit paydirt with Jack Heaps’ goal, assisted by Pirmin Blattmann, in the 25th minute of the first half.
Mountain Brook continued to push in the second half, but came up empty on some close shots. With 18 minutes remaining in the second half, Mountain Brook almost gave up the 1-0 lead when a ball squirted through the goalie’s arms towards the net. Adam Tamucci came in behind the goalie to kick the ball away and preserve the shutout.
The play ended up being one of the deciding factors in the Spartans’ 1-0 win.
The Mountain Brook girls soccer team stayed out of the loss column with a 1-1 tie with Homewood Feb. 12. Mountain Brook hopped out to a 1-0 lead with a goal from Ellie Keplinger with 15:15 left in the first half. The Lady Spartans recorded more than seven saves in the contest to keep Homewood off the board. Homewood scored a goal in the second half to tie the game.
The Mountain Brook girls also won their only match last week. They held off Thompson with a 2-1 win last Wednesday. Carly Cole put a corner kick in the back of the net and Elizabeth Stokes added a goal to give the Lady Spartans the win.
TENNIS
The Mountain Brook boys tennis team dropped a contest with Spain Park last Wednesday, 6-3.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.