Photo courtesy of Allyson Ritenour
The Spain Park High School softball team won the Class 6A, Area 7 tournament on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at Spain Park High School in Hoover. Photo courtesy of Allyson Ritenour.
There has been plenty of recent playoff action in the high school sports world.
At the Class 6A state outdoor track and field meet, Briarwood's girls finished fourth in 6A with 55.5 points. Spain Park's boys finished seventh in 6A with 34.5 points. At the Class 7A meet, Oak Mountain's boys finished sixth in 7A with 33 points and the girls finished 12th in 7A with 17 points. Chelsea's boys finished 19th in 6A with 12 points. A full recap of the state meet will be published in the coming days.
Spain Park's softball team won the Class 6A, Area 7 tournament over the weekend, winning three straight games to claim the title.
The Jags began the tournament with an 11-1 win over Pelham. Allie Whitaker led the offense, going 3-for-3, with a double, a home run and four runs batted in. Abby King hit two triples and Maxie Provost threw six shutout innings. Spain Park then earned a 5-4 win over Helena, as Teagan Huey knocked in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. King and Klara Thompson hit home runs in the game as well. Jaley Young threw a complete game, striking out 10 batters.
Spain Park wrapped up the tournament with another win over Helena, this one a 4-3 win. King and Reagan Roberts homered, each driving in two runs. Mary Payton Dees and Provost combined to hold the Huskies' offense in check. The Jags will play in the regional tournament next week.
Chelsea was unable to advance after losing twice to Helena in the area tournament. As of this writing, Briarwood and Oak Mountain were in the midst of their area tournaments.
On the baseball diamond, Briarwood swept Charles Henderson in the second round of the 5A playoffs, winning 14-0 and 3-1 on Thursday.
In the opener, Houston Hartsfield earned the win on the mound, pitching five innings and allowing no runs on four hits with seven strikeouts. Hartsfield also went 3-for-4 with three RBIs at the plate. Ivan Hand tripled and had four RBIs, Charles Dedmon added two hits and two RBIs, and Parker Daniels drove in two runs.
In the nightcap, Hand took the ball and delivered, pitching six innings and allowing just one run on two hits with nine strikeouts. Hand also doubled and drove in a run, with Robbie Paulsen adding an RBI as well.
Briarwood will face Elmore County in the quarterfinals this week.
Chelsea won a three-game second-round series against Pike Road in the 6A playoffs, taking the opener 5-3 on Thursday before dropping the nightcap 4-1 and winning the decisive third game 2-0 on Friday.
In game one, Grant Hill threw a complete game, allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Aiden Craven had three hits — including a triple — and three RBIs, and Avery Floyd added two hits and two RBIs.
In the decisive third game, Silas Osbourn threw a complete game shutout, allowing no runs on three hits with nine strikeouts. Craven, Bousman and Sam Parrish accounted for Chelsea's only three hits in the game, all of them doubles.
Chelsea's quarterfinal opponent is to be determined, pending the outcome of Monday's deciding game between McGill-Toolen and Northridge.
Spain Park swept Benjamin Russell in the second round of the 6A playoffs, winning 2-1 and 14-0 on Thursday.
In the opener, Houston Holmes was stellar, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just one run on four hits with four strikeouts. Slade Bounds had two hits including a home run. Cason Weidman got the final two outs, before the Jags walked it off in the bottom of the seventh, as Rhys Jones scored on a passed ball.
In the nightcap, Hudson Franks dominated, pitching four innings and allowing just one hit with eight strikeouts. Ryne Paquette went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Will Jacobsen went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Barrett Price drove in two runs.
Spain Park will travel to Gulf Shores for the quarterfinals, with a doubleheader set for Friday at 5 p.m. A decisive third game, if necessary, will be Saturday at 1 p.m.
On the soccer field, the Spain Park girls team saw its season end in the Class 6A second round last Wednesday, falling to Northridge 4-2.
Briarwood's girls soccer team beat Benjamin Russell 10-0 in the Class 6A second round last Wednesday before falling 1-0 to Northridge in the quarterfinals, ending their season. The Briarwood boys beat Pelham 2-1 in the quarterfinals to advance to the state final four, where they will face St. Paul's in the Class 6A semifinals Thursday at 11 a.m. In the win over Pelham, the Panthers scored in the 14th minute. That lead held for much of the contest, until Andrew Kunard scored in the 79th minute to equalize. Quinn Corcoran scored in the fourth minute of overtime to give the Lions a thrilling win.
Oak Mountain's girls soccer team beat Bob Jones 4-0 in the Class 7A second round last Thursday to advance to the state final four, where they will face Thompson in the semifinals at 1 p.m.
