Photo by Erin Nelson.
Oak Mountain’s Avery Smith (5) passes the ball in a game against Auburn at Oak Mountain High School on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Here's a look back at the last week in Briarwood, Chelsea and Oak Mountain high school sports.
SOFTBALL
The Briarwood, Chelsea and Oak Mountain softball teams played in their area tournaments last week.
Briarwood dropped a pair of games in the Class 6A, Area 7 tournament to Pelham, ending the Lions season. The Lions dropped a 10-5 decision Tuesday to open the tournament. Larson Cummings led the team by going 3-for-4 with a double and driving in 2 runs. Ashley Heinemann also notched 3 hits, hitting a double and knocking a run home. Meredith Kellum was 2-for-4 with a run batted in as well.
Briarwood came close Wednesday, but fell to Pelham 9-7. Kellum hit a pair of solo homers for the Lions, while Heinemann had another 3-hit game, knocking in a run.
Chelsea and Oak Mountain opened the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament at Hewitt-Trussville with losses on Tuesday. Chelsea fell to Spain Park 11-1 in the opening round. Charlee Bennett homered for the Jags and drove in 4 runs to lead the charge. Blakley Watts and Katie Flannery each tallied multi-hit games, hitting a double and driving in a run. Ella Ussery knocked home a pair of runs as well. Ella Reed was strong at the plate and in the circle. She hit a double and had 2 RBIs, while allowing an unearned run in 4 innings, with 8 strikeouts.
Oak Mountain fell to Hewitt-Trussville 11-0 in the opening round. Olivia Faggard, Hannah Dorsett, Sara Phillips and Gracie Reeves all homered for the Huskies in the win.
Chelsea defeated Oak Mountain 5-0 in an elimination game Wednesday. Kathryn Bryars notched an extra base hit for the Hornets, going 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. Morgan Brewer and Abby Hibbs each tallied 3 hits, with Hibbs driving in a pair of runs. Julie Amacher threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits. Kelsey Crain pitched well for Oak Mountain, going the full 7 innings and allowing 5 runs, striking out 6 as well.
Chelsea was eliminated by Hewitt-Trussville on Thursday, as the Huskies knocked off the Hornets 10-6. AhKeela Honeycutt, Lexie Kelly, Reeves and Sarah Beth Golden all hit homers for Hewitt, combining to drive in 7 of the team’s runs. Chaney Peters went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs as well. For Chelsea, Katie Hopson and Sydney Carroll hit homers, while Bryars notched a pair of doubles and drove in a run.
SOCCER
The Chelsea boys soccer team had its season ended in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs last Monday, as the Hornets fell to Hoover 2-0. For the season, Chelsea set school records by pitching 11 shutouts and allowing only 1.16 goals per game. The team finished with a record of 16-7-2.
Oak Mountain’s girls took down Hoover 2-1 in the first round of the 7A playoffs Monday.
Briarwood’s girls won in the second round of the 6A playoffs Tuesday, shutting out Indian Springs 5-0.
Oak Mountain’s boys earned a 4-1 win over Vestavia Hills in the first round of the 7A playoffs Tuesday.
Briarwood’s girls earned another dominant win in the quarterfinals Thursday, beating Northridge 6-0.
On Friday, Oak Mountain’s girls beat Spain Park 1-0 in the quarterfinals and Oak Mountain’s boys picked up a 3-1 win over Hoover.
All three teams advance to the state finals in Huntsville. In the semifinals on Thursday, Briarwood’s girls play Montgomery Academy at 11 a.m., Oak Mountain’s girls take on Sparkman at 3 p.m., and Oak Mountain’s boys play Huntsville at 5 p.m.
The winners of those games will advance to the state championship games on Saturday.
TRACK AND FIELD
The Briarwood, Chelsea and Oak Mountain outdoor track and field teams competed at the state meet last weekend. Chelsea’s girls finished as the runner-up in Class 7A. Check back with 280 Living later in the week for a recap of the meet.
GOLF
The Briarwood boys golf team finished second at the Class 6A, Section 2 tournament at Ol’ Colony Golf Course in Tuscaloosa last Monday. The Lions posted a score of 310 to qualify for the sub-state tournament next week. Northridge won with a score of 303, with Helena posting 346 and Chilton County carding 348.
Nathan Barnes tied for the low medalist, shooting a 74. Luke Philley and Sam Burns each shot 77, Will Burns shot an 82 and Jake Scott finished with 85.
Oak Mountain’s Wille Greene shot a 76 at the Class 7A, Section 3 tournament last Monday at Vestavia Hills Country Club. Greene’s score qualified him for the sub-state tournament next week.
Briarwood’s girls also finished second at the Section 2 tournament. Helena won with a 275, followed by the Lions at 283. Northridge finished third with a 303.
Camille Beatty led Briarwood with a round of 90. Cariann Beatty shot a 93 and Hannah Leeper shot a 100.
Want to see something else mentioned? Feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnesmedia.com.
