Sarah Finnegan
Mountain Brook's Haskins Jones at the Class 7A, Section 3 tournament on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at Spain Park High School.
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.
BASEBALL
The Mountain Brook baseball team beat Oneonta, 7-1, on Monday. Wilson Higgins led the way offensively, as he went 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Eight different Spartans pitchers combined to hold Oneonta to just one run on six hits.
The Spartans clinched a playoff spot with a 5-3 win over Spain Park on Thursday. Parker Garrison homered for Mountain Brook and Clay Stearns drove in two runs.
Mountain Brook did one better on Friday, tying Oak Mountain for the top spot in the area with a 16-6 win over Spain Park. Higgins drove in three runs on the evening, while John Marks, Thomas Graham and Phillip Bethea added two RBIs apiece.
The Spartans pulled off a dramatic 2-1 win over Oak Mountain in eight innings on Saturday in the Class 7A, Area 6 championship game. Stearns hit a walk-off home run to give Mountain Brook the title and the right to host a first-round playoff series. Garrison pitched a spectacular game, going eight innings and allowing just five hits, an unearned run and striking out seven.
This week, the Spartans will host James Clemens in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs. A doubleheader will begin Friday at 4:30 p.m., with a third game to be played Saturday if necessary.
SOFTBALL
The Mountain Brook softball team won its final Class 7A, Area 6 game on Monday, beating Huffman 12-0. Lauren Gilbert pitched the shutout, allowing six hits and striking out eight in seven innings. She also knocked in two runs at the plate. Grace Green had three RBIs for the Spartans.
The Spartans were shut out by Calera, 10-0, on Tuesday. On Thursday, the Spartans fell to Homewood, 16-5.
This week, the Spartans are at Pell City on Tuesday and host Briarwood on Thursday to wrap up the regular season.
TENNIS
The Mountain Brook boys and girls tennis teams qualified for the state tournament, which takes place Monday and Tuesday in Mobile. Click here for the recap of the sectional tournaments.
SOCCER
The Mountain Brook boys soccer team shut out Spain Park, 4-0, on Tuesday, to clinch the area title and give coach Joe Webb his 400th career victory. The boys defeated Huffman, 10-0, on Thursday.
TRACK AND FIELD
The Mountain Brook outdoor track and field teams participated in the Hewitt-Trussville Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The girls finished third with 70.5 points, while the boys placed fourth with 54.5 points.
For the girls, Anna Balzli was second in the 800-meter run, coming home in 2:18.87. Mary Allison Anderson finished third in the two-mile run with a time of 12:26.52. The Lady Spartans 4x800-meter relay team won the event, pacing the field in 9:56.35. Ella Cobbs placed third in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches. Sophie Jane Knott cleared 11 feet to finish third in the pole vault.
On the boys side, Hunter Harwell went sub-two minutes in the 800, winning in 1:58.24. The 4x100 team came home third in 44.11 seconds, while the 4x800 team won, finishing in 8:09.76. In the high jump, Eli Pappas finished third with a jump of 6-4. Thomas Renneker cleared 11 feet to finish third in the pole vault.
This week, Mountain Brook hosts the section meet on Friday and Saturday.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
