Kyle Parmley
State Tennis Tournament
Vestavia Hills' Daniel Wheeler and Ethan Harrington during the Class 7A state tennis tournament on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at the Jimmy Johns Tennis Complex in Decatur.
Over the course of the year, Vestavia Voice will keep you up to date on the various Vestavia Hills High School athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.
TENNIS
The Vestavia Hills boys tennis team earned a dramatic win in the Class 7A state tournament last Tuesday. Click here to read about the circumstances that led to the Rebels’ first title in five years.
BASEBALL
The Vestavia Hills baseball team advanced to the quarterfinals with a tightly-contest, three-game series victory over Hoover over the weekend.
Game 1: Vestavia Hills 7, Hoover 4
A ninth-inning rally propelled Vestavia Hills past Hoover 7-4 in the first game of the series on Friday. The Rebels entered the seventh inning trailing by two runs but overtook the Bucs in the final frame.
In the seventh, Vestavia Hills loaded the bases on two walks and a single before Colton Lewis’ single scored a run to cut the lead to 4-3. A bases loaded walk tied the game and Sean Smyth’s infield single gave the Rebels the lead. Two more runs scored on an error.
Mason Maners racked up three hits in the game for Vestavia.
Game 2: Hoover 14, Vestavia Hills 0
Hoover responded in a big way in the second game, taking out the frustration of losing a lead in the first game by winning the second game 14-0.
The game was scoreless through five innings before the Bucs broke through with nine runs in the sixth inning. The Bucs tacked on five more in the seventh to inflate the score line even more. Hoover tallied six doubles in the game, with Peyton Wilson, Jack Henry Milligan and Jesse Kelley all driving in two runs each.
Andrew Sasser shut down the Rebels offense, as he went 6 1/3 innings, allowing two hits with 10 strikeouts.
Game 3: Vestavia Hills 6, Hoover 3
Vestavia Hills struck immediately and went on to win the decisive third game over Hoover 6-3 on Saturday afternoon to win the first round series in the Class 7A playoffs. The first three Rebels hitters of the game reached base and Lewis drove them all in with a three-run triple down the right field line. Lewis would later score on a wild pitch to cap off a four-run first inning.
Vestavia Hills tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning before Hoover put together rallies in the sixth and seventh innings. The Bucs cut the deficit to 6-3 in the final inning on Peyton Wilson’s two-run single and Hoover even brought the tying run to the plate. Grant Cherry gave Vestavia Hills a great start, going six innings and allowing one run on five hits.
This weekend, Vestavia Hills will host Bob Jones in the quarterfinals. Hoover ends its season with a record of 30-13.
SOFTBALL
The Vestavia Hills softball team picked up a 4-0 win over Chelsea last Tuesday. The Rebels scored three runs in the first and another in the second and that was all pitcher Arden Plugge needed. She allowed just two hits in seven scoreless innings. Plugge also helped herself at the plate, driving in a pair of runs.
Vestavia Hills fell to Tuscaloosa County 13-3 on Wednesday. Mary Claire Wilson hit a home run for the Rebels and Annie Kate Parks drove in the other two runs.
Vestavia Hills capped off the regular season with four wins in two days in a tournament at Slocomb over the weekend. The Rebels began play on Friday with an eight-inning walk-off 8-7 win over Geneva. Mary Emma Davidson’s groundball brought home the winning run. Davidson and Emma Shofner each drove in a pair of runs.
In the second game of the day, the Rebels pulled off a dramatic comeback to beat Headland 6-3, as they scored all of their runs in the top of the seventh inning. Hannah Grace Roden and Gwynnie Hornibrook each had two RBIs in the game.
The Rebels began play on Saturday with a dominant 20-0 win over Cottonwood. Nikki Hammond went 2-for-2 with a home run four RBIs, while Shofner also drove in four runs. Hammond and Tait Davidson combined on a three-inning no-hitter. Vestavia Hills finished the event with a 6-2 win over Slocomb. Hornibrook had two RBIs while Charity Bibbs and Wilson each tallied three hits. Bibbs homered as well. Hammond allowed two runs on five hits in six innings of work.
This week, Vestavia Hills plays in the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament at Spain Park. The Rebels begin play on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Hewitt-Trussville.
SOCCER
The Vestavia Hills girls soccer team (19-0) wrapped up the first undefeated regular season of head coach Brigid Meadow’s tenure with a 5-0 victory on Tuesday over Hewitt-Trussville. Lizzie Hill recorded two goals and an assist in the win. The Lady Rebels will host Hoover on Monday at 5 p.m. in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.
The Vestavia Hills boys soccer team (16-8-2) defeated Cullman 7-0 on Monday and Indian Springs 3-1 on Wednesday to close out the regular season. The Rebels will host Oak Mountain on Monday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the 7A playoffs.
TRACK AND FIELD
The Vestavia Hills track and field teams competed over the weekend at the Class 7A, Section 3 meet. The girls and boys both finished fifth in the team standings.
Sophomore Ethan Stand was the only Rebel to win an event. He took first in the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 19.28 seconds. The Rebels will compete this Thursday to Saturday at the state meet in Gulf Shores.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
