Hoover Diamonds, Thunder all-stars win state softball tournaments
The Hoover Softball Association fared well with its all-star season this summer, with two teams earning state championships and two others capturing third-place honors.
The Hoover Diamonds 6U Fast-pitch All-Stars went undefeated in five games in the state tournament this past weekend in Alabaster and earned a first-place national ranking with the United States Specialty Sports Association.
At the state tournament, the Diamonds captured 16-15 and 9-7 victories over Gardendale, a 15-4 win over McCalla, a 22-12 win over Hartselle and a 17-7 win over Athens. The Diamonds’ overall record for the all-star season was 12-6. They averaged 15 runs per game, while allowing an average of nine runs per game by their opponents, according to USSSA stats.
The Diamonds showed an incredible amount of improvement from the day they started practicing together, said John Parker, president of the Hoover Softball Association. They came in sixth in the first pre-area tournament, fourth in the second pre-area tournament and third in the area tournament, losing their final two games by only one run, head coach Matthew Morris said.
In the state championship game, they were down by five runs with two outs in the last inning and staged a six-run comeback to claim the state title, Morris said.
“That was the most incredible transformation I’ve ever seen,” Parker said of the Diamonds. “I was blown away after they went undefeated (in the state tournament).”
The 6U Diamonds included Reagan Roberts, Anabelle Beasley, Mackenzie Dockery, Ellie Robinson, Maddie Maddox, Madison Morris, Lily Cate Campbell, Emory Congleton, Scarlett Worley, Emma Pines, Ryleigh Williams, Callie Wallace and Piper Smith. The team was coached by Matthew Morris, Jason Wallace, Chris Dockery and Ingram Worley.
Hoover Thunder 8U Fast-pitch All-Stars
The Hoover Thunder 8U Fast-pitch All-Stars also went undefeated in the state tournament in Calera, winning all five games (8-5 over Hartselle black all-stars, 8-4 over McCalla white all-stars, 18-0 over West Alabama, 8-6 over East Tuscaloosa red all-stars and 12-7 over Trussville).
The Hoover Thunder ‘s overall record for the all-star season was 20-2, losing only to the McCalla white team in the pre-area tournament twice. The Thunder averaged 10 runs per game and allowed only four runs per game on average by opponents.
They won their pre-area tournament and area tournament also.
Team members included Mary El Neal, Sydney Durban, Haley Westhoven, Lindsey Westhoven, Becca Guerard, Olivia Guenster, Sarah Elizabeth Breeze, Taylor Canada, Tatum Lasseter, Caroline Young, Avi Rae Davis and Brianna Morales. The Thunder 8U Fast-pitch All-Stars were coached by Michael Neal, Jason Durban, Mark Westhoven and Dax Guerard.
The Hoover 10U Fireballs and 12U Strykers fast-pitch all-star teams both placed third in state, and the Strykers are headed to the USSSA World Series in Orange Beach on July 5-9.
“Hoover is the standard. Everyone wants to beat us,” Parker said. “We do have the best rec program, the biggest program in the state. Everybody compares themselves to us. That sounds arrogant, but that’s the truth because we have the biggest park (in terms of number of kids).”