Huskies win state title

OXFORD — Hewitt-Trussville High School charged full steam out of the elimination bracket and into the AHSAA 2023 Class 7A State Softball Championship finals vs. Fairhope and knocked off the Pirates twice on Saturday, May 20 at Choccolocco Park to win its third AHSAA softball title in five years.

Megan Keenum is an assistant coach for the Huskies. Her husband, Adam, is Boaz High School’s head baseball coach.

The Huskies (46-8) posted a 7-4 win in the opener before recording a 12-2 mercy-rule victory in the nightcap. Hewitt-Trussville reached the finals with a 5-0 victory over Sparkman in the elimination bracket finals earlier Saturday. The Senators downed Thompson in the first game of the elimination bracket Saturday morning.

In the final, Fairhope struck first with two runs in the top of the first inning. Hewitt-Trussville, however, answered with one run in the bottom of the second and two runs in the third to grab a 3-2 lead. An eight-run fourth inning then broke the game open. Coach Taylor Burt’s Huskies sent 12 batters to the plate, scoring eight runs off five hits to go along with a Fairhope error.

With the commanding nine-run lead, Hewitt-Trussville needed a single run to evoke the 10-run mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth inning. Chaney Peters led off the frame with a walk. Pinch-runner Peyton Hull took over and advanced to third before scoring on Gracie Reeves’ game-winning single.

The Huskies totaled 12 hits in the nightcap. Olivia Faggard was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and was named to the Class 7A All-Tournament team. She was joined on the team by Lexie Kelly, who drove in two runs with a double and a single on a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Zaylen Tucker and Sara Phillips added two hits each for the Huskies.

Phillips, who went 2-for-3, also picked up pitching victories in both games Saturday and was named the 7A state tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Mallory Earp had two singles and was 2-for-3 at the plate for Fairhope (46-7).