The Reset: Eagles basketball heads to final four, spring sports begin
Over the course of the year, 280 Living will keep you up to date on the various local high school athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.
BASKETBALL
Briarwood
The Briarwood girls basketball team advanced to the Class 5A sub-regional round, where the Lady Lions fell to Sylacauga 37-33 in a tight contest on Feb. 10. The Lady Lions finished the season with a 16-10 record.
Chelsea
The Chelsea girls basketball team finished up its season recently as well. The Lady Hornets stormed through the area tournament, and on Feb. 10 knocked off Russell County 61-51 in the Class 6A sub-regional round.
However, Chelsea ran into a tough Dothan team in the Southeast Regional semifinals on Feb. 14, falling 57-47. Click here for a recap of the game.
The Lady Hornets finished the season with a 26-6 record.
Oak Mountain
The Oak Mountain boys and girls basketball teams will look back upon the 2019-20 season as a banner one. The Lady Eagles fought through injuries and other challenges to make it to the Class 7A Northeast Regional. On Feb. 13, the girls fell to Gadsden City 47-38 in the regional semifinals. Click here for a recap of the game.
The Lady Eagles finished the season with a 10-18 record.
The Oak Mountain boys also made it to regionals, but won both games there. In the regional semifinals on Feb. 13, the Eagles pushed past Huntsville 60-36. Click here for a recap of that contest.
On Feb. 18, the Eagles advanced to the state final four for the first time in school history with a 60-51 win over Sparkman in the regional final. Click here for a recap of the game.
This Thursday, Oak Mountain faces Lee-Montgomery at 10:30 a.m. in the state semifinals at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena. The winner moves on to the final on Saturday afternoon.
Westminster-Oak Mountain
The Westminster-Oak Mountain girls basketball team saw its season come to an end last week after a solid playoff run. On Feb. 10, the Lady Knights defeated Lanett 34-30 to advance to the Class 1A Southeast Regional. On Feb. 13, they knocked off Georgiana 48-30 in the regional semifinals. Last Monday, Westminster fell to Elba 49-40 in the regional final, falling just short of a third state final four trip in four years.
WRESTLING
The high school wrestling season came to an end on Feb. 15 at the state tournament. Chelsea placed ninth as a team in Class 6A, scoring 69.5 points. Oak Mountain was seventh in 7A with 42 points.
Look for extended coverage of the state tournament in the April edition of 280 Living.
BASEBALL
Briarwood
The Briarwood baseball team is off to a 3-0 start. Last Monday, the Lions began the season with a 10-7 victory over Vestavia Hills. In the game, Carson McKinney led the charge with a grand slam and five RBIs. Eli Steadman also contributed a double and two RBIs.
On Saturday, Briarwood swept a doubleheader with Pell City, winning 14-3 and 10-0. In the first game, McKinney drove in three runs and threw four innings, allowing three hits and three unearned runs. Steadman and Pierce Covin also contributed two hits and two RBIs. In the second game, Blake McKenna drove in two runs and hurled 4 1/3 innings with just one hit allowed. McKinney, Tyler Waugh and Cal Higdon each drove in two runs as well.
Chelsea
The Chelsea baseball team is 5-1 through its first six games of the season. The Hornets began the season by splitting a doubleheader on Feb. 15. Chelsea beat Prattville 3-2 but fell to Spain Park 13-4. Against Prattville, Connor Ball was 2-for-2 with a run and a walk. Brock Hill threw 2 1/3 hitless innings, striking out six. Carter Frederick earned the save with a scoreless inning. Against Spain Park, Kaden Weldon drove in two runs and Ricky Whited threw three hitless innings.
Last Monday, Chelsea swept a doubleheader at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, beating Austin 3-1 and Springville 8-5. Frederick and Ball combined to hold Austin to the one run in the first game. In the second game, Cole Kennedy notched a double, triple and two RBIs. Jackson Webster also drove in two runs. Reid Gongwer threw five scoreless innings, striking out eight.
Chelsea picked up two more wins on Saturday, defeating Oak Mountain 6-3 and Brookwood 7-1. In the first game, Webster had a double and three RBIs and Gongwer allowed just one hit in three scoreless innings to pick up the win. In the second game, Ball had a double and two runs knocked in, while Frederick hurled 5 1/3 innings, surrendering just one hit and striking out 10 batters.
Oak Mountain
The Oak Mountain baseball team stands at 3-2 after five games. The Eagles began the season last Monday by sweeping a doubleheader at Troy University on Feb. 15. Oak Mountain knocked off Charles Henderson 6-2, as Davis Gillespie and Drew Rowland each drove in two runs, while Cole Sester threw five innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out 10. In a 1-0 win over Opelika, Jake Rivers allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings.
Last Wednesday, Oak Mountain fell to Mountain Brook 6-5 in 10 innings. Sester went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in the contest.
On Saturday, the Eagles split a doubleheader, falling to Chelsea 6-3 and beating Brookwood 12-2. The victory over Brookwood was head coach Derek Irons’ 400th career win.
SOFTBALL
Briarwood
The Briarwood softball team began the season last Monday with a 10-0 loss to Leeds.
Chelsea
The Chelsea softball team is 1-1-1 to start the season after three games at Thompson’s Presidents’ Day Invitational last Monday. In a 13-2 loss to Hoover, Brooke Burback homered and drove in two runs. In a 6-6 tie with Brookwood, Carly Taylor was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Emma Fields drove in three runs. In a 5-2 victory over Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, Abigail Bryars went five innings, giving up two runs on seven hits.
Oak Mountain
The Oak Mountain softball team is 1-2-1 to start the year after playing in the Leeds Greenwave Classic last weekend. On Friday, the Eagles tied Moody 3-3 and lost to Spain Park 6-0. In the Moody game, Riley Sullivan drove in two runs.
On Saturday, Oak Mountain beat St. Clair County 4-1 before falling to Vestavia Hills 6-3. In the St. Clair County win, Sarah Wells allowed just one run in four innings pitched.
SOCCER
Briarwood
The Briarwood boys team finished last week with a 1-1 record after a shutout and then a tough loss. The Lions started the week on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Pinson Valley. Briarwood fell to area opponent John Carroll 1-0 on Friday to fall to 4-3 on the season.
Chelsea
The Chelsea girls soccer team fell to Oak Mountain 4-1 on Feb. 13 to fall to 1-1 on the season.
The Lady Hornets had a rollercoaster ride during the Lakeshore Shootout last weekend, with three different decisions in the platinum division. Chelsea started the tournament with a 2-2 tie with James Clemens before redeeming itself with a 2-0 win over Whitewater (Ga.) to round out the first day.
Chelsea faced stiff competition in day two with a 3-1 loss to Oak Mountain. The Lady Hornets finished 1-1-1 during the two-day competition.
Chelsea’s boys soccer team made it to the gold division championship match at the Lakeshore Shootout Feb. 14-15 but lost to Pelham 4-3. Chelsea also posted a win over Cullman by a 5-0 margin during the tournament.
The Hornets had ties against Stanhope Elmore and Albertville, each by a score of 1-1.
The Chelsea boys lost their only match last week, dropping a 4-1 decision to Fort Payne on Friday. The only other scheduled match was postponed due to inclement weather.
Oak Mountain
Oak Mountain’s boys soccer team enjoyed success at the Lakeshore Shootout on Feb. 14-15 posting two wins. The Eagles had a close 1-0 win over Mountain Brook and also a 4-1 win over Hewitt-Trussville during the tournament. They finished in second place in the platinum division.
The Eagles started last week with a tie against Sparkman on Tuesday, pushing their record to 1-1-2 on the season. The Eagles bounced back with a convincing 3-1 win over Homewood to earn their second win of the season.
The Oak Mountain girls added a win to their resume with a 4-1 victory over Chelsea on Feb. 13.
The Lady Eagles outscored opponents 12-1 to win the platinum division of the Lakeshore Shootout last weekend. On day one, the Lady Eagles made quick work of both opponents, beating Northgate (Ga.) 4-0 and then James Clemens 3-0.
Oak Mountain dethroned top-seeded Chelsea for the second time in two weeks with a 3-1 win before wrapping up the tournament championship with a 2-0 win over Whitewater (Ga.).
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.