Photo by Erin Nelson
Vestavia Hills’ Addison Mizerany (6) moves toward the ball guarded by Oak Mountain’s Ava Fields (6) and Grace Payne (4) in a match at the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex on Thursday, March 9, 2023. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Here's a look back at the last week in Vestavia Hills High School.
BASEBALL
The Vestavia Hills baseball team earned a 5-0 shutout win over Spain Park last Tuesday. Christopher Johnston led the Rebels offense by hitting a double and a home run, and driving in 3 runs. Mason Perrigo also hit a homer for the Rebels. William Peerson drove in a run, John Paul Head and John Martin Richter each hit a triple and Grant Downey hit a double. Aiden Black got the start, going 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing a single hit with 5 strikeouts. Matthew Ledbetter went 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing a single hit. JR Thompson of Spain Park threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits.
Spain Park avenged its loss to Vestavia Hills on Thursday, beating the Rebels 6-4. For the Jags, Jacob Tobias hit a double and knocked in a pair of runs, while throwing 5 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits with 5 strikeouts. Evan Smallwood was 2-for-4 with a double, while Matthew Widra had a pair of hits and drove in a run. Cole Edwards and James Battersby also notched RBIs for the Jags. Head hit a triple and knocked in a pair for the Rebels, while William Tonsmeire and Downey brought home runs. Johnston tallied a pair of hits.
Chelsea took down Vestavia Hills 8-7 on Saturday. Kaleb Hester led the Hornets offense, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run. Walker Thomas was 3-for-4 with an RBI, Cody Fortenberry had a pair of hits and an RBI, and Paxton Stallings and Aiden Hughes each knocked in a run. Brandon Ridderhoff threw 4 hitless innings, striking out 5. For Vestavia, Tonsmeire and Hudson Walburn each drove in a pair of runs. Johnston, Richter and Will Cox each knocked in a run, Jackson Harris hit a double and Downey went 2-for-4. Josh Brooks threw 2 innings, allowing a run on 3 hits.
Vestavia Hills rebounded to earn an 8-1 win over Calera later Saturday. Harris led the offense by going 2-for-3 with a triple and 3 RBIs. Walburn finished with a pair of doubles and an RBI, while Johnston drove in a run as well. Jable Ramey got the start and went 6 innings, allowing only an unearned run on 3 hits. He struck out 11 in the outing as well.
SOFTBALL
The Hoover softball team earned an area win over Vestavia Hills on Tuesday, beating the Rebels 7-1. Bella Foran and Carolyne Hecklinski hit homers for the Bucs, combining for 4 RBIs between them. Kate Dinkel had a strong game, finishing 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. Kaitlyn Raines hit a double and drove in a pair, while throwing a complete game in the circle. She allowed just a run on 5 hits and 5 strikeouts. For Vestavia, Miah Simmons went 3 1/3 innings, allowing 2 unearned runs with 5 strikeouts.
Vestavia Hills earned a key 9-4 win over Thompson in an area matchup Thursday. Ella Gallaspy led the way for the Rebels with a pair of hits, including a triple, and 2 RBIs in the game. Abby Gallaspy notched 3 hits and drove home a run as well. Tait Davidson threw 2 2/3 hitless innings and also drove in a pair of runs at the plate.
Vestavia Hills played in the Buccaneer Round Robin at the Hoover Met over the weekend. The Rebels began play Friday with a 13-2 win over Jasper. Simmons was one of the top performers in the game, as she went 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs, scoring 3 runs. Reese Johnson hit a double and drove in a pair of runs as well. Ella Gallaspy hit a double and knocked in 3. Davidson drove in a pair of runs and threw 4 stellar innings, allowing no runs on a hit with 8 strikeouts.
Vestavia capped off the weekend with a couple more wins Saturday. The Rebels defeated Mortimer Jordan 4-2 before beating Sparkman 8-4. In the Mortimer Jordan win, Ella Gallaspy had the walk-off, game-winning hit. Davidson pitched well in the game, throwing the complete 7 innings, allowing 2 unearned runs on 5 hits, striking out 12 batters. Against Sparkman, Franklin hit a homer, while Simmons had a pair of doubles. Both Rebels drove in 3 runs as well. Lucy Spisto went 2-for-2 and knocked in a run as well. Davidson threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts.
SOCCER
The Vestavia Hills boys soccer team knocked off Thompson 3-2 last Tuesday.
Vestavia’s girls beat Hoover 1-0 on Friday. The Rebels scored a goal in the first half and hung on for the win.
Vestavia’s boys hit the road for the weekend, beginning play Friday with a 2-1 win over LaGrange. On Saturday, the Rebels took down Westminster 3-2.
TRACK AND FIELD
The Vestavia Hills outdoor track and field team competed at the Homewood Invitational last Saturday.
The Rebels had a couple winners on the boys side. Henry Strand won the 800-meter run, with a time of 1 minute, 55 seconds. Will Jordan won the 3,200-meter run, with a time of 9:37.
Chase Webb took second in the 100 and the 200, Max Armstrong was second in the 400, Mitchell Schaaf finished second in the 1,600, Tyler Dressback was second and Tanner McInnis third in the high jump and Walker Gardner was third in discus. For the girls, Claire Spooner placed third in the 1,600 and Gabby Walls was second in high jump.
TENNIS
The Vestavia Hills boys and girls tennis teams picked up section wins over Spain Park last Monday. The girls won 8-1 and the boys swept the match 9-0.
Want to see something else mentioned? Feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnesmedia.com.
