Spring Sports Wrapup
MADISON- The 2021-2021 athletic seasons within the high schools across Alabama are now complete with the spring sports placed in the record books of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. In all, six sports saw the end of the competitions come to a close with outstanding performances from the local Madison schools.
Highest on the list for team sports was the Bob Jones softball team. After a No. 12 national ranking, the Lady Patriots made their way to the winner’s bracket finals in the Class 7A AHSAA State Tournament before falling into the consolation bracket and finishing tied for third in the overall tournament.
Softball
Both fourth ranked Bob Jones and unranked Sparkman (35-13) qualified for the Softball State Tournament held in Oxford. Sparkman opened with an 11-4 win over Baker High before losing in round two to No. 2 Fairhope 10-6.
Meanwhile, No. 4 Bob Jones opened with a 5-nothing win over No. 6 Thompson and a 3-2 thriller over Fairhope. In the finals of the winner’s bracket, top-ranked Hewitt-Trussville nailed down an 8-2 victory over the Patriots putting the Madison squad into the consolation bracket with a chance to win its way back to the winner’s area of play. Against Fairhope a second time, Fairhope outlasted Bob Jones (37-6) 6-3 to end the marvelous 2021 season of Bob Jones in a third place position.
Fairhope (42-6) forced Hewitt-Trussville to a third and deciding game in the finals before the No. 1 Huskies (49-3-1) closed with a 16-4 victory to win the state championship for the second consecutive season.
In Class 5-A, Madison Academy did not qualify for the state tournament. Satsuma and Ardmore had a dogfight in three games in the finals before Satsuma claimed the state title.
Baseball
In Class 7A, Sparkman and Bob Jones made the trip to the Baseball State Tournament. Bob Jones was eliminated by Hoover in two games while the Senators defeated Spain Park in the opening round before falling to Florence in a three-game, one-run series.
In the title series, Auburn outlasted Hoover in three games for the Class 7A state championship trophy.
In Class 5A, the Madison Academy Mustangs rolled through the competition undefeated through the first three rounds with two games to none over Fairview, St. Clair County and Hayden before facing Russellville in the state quarter-finals. Against the Tigers, the Mustangs opened with a 9-4 victory, but lost its next two encounters 4-6 and 2-8 falling out of the tournament with a loss to eventual Class 5A state champion Russellville.
Soccer
All four local schools were represented in the Soccer State Tournament. In Class 7A boys play, Spain Park defeated Davidson 2-1 for the state championship, while James Clemens lost in its first-round effort 5-1 to Grissom.
In the girls division, Oak Mountain posted a 5-nothing shutout over Enterprise for the state blue trophy while three local schools saw state tournament action. Sparkman defeated James Clemens 2-1 to open the post-season tournament before falling to Oak Mountain 6-nothing. Bob Jones edged rival Huntsville 2-1 in round one and then lost 1-nothing to Vestavia Hills.
In Class 4-5A boys, Madison Academy defeated Madison County 5-0 and Brewer 4-1 to advance to the third round of play. The Mustangs faced Russellville in the third round where they fell to the Tigers 5-1. Russellville would fall to Indian Springs 2-0 in the finals.
In girls, Montgomery Academy defeated St. John Paul II 6-1 for the state championship as Madison Academy did not qualify.
Tennis
Auburn won the state team title with 35 points in girls and Spain Park took the boys title scoring 43 points in boys. In the boys division, Bob Jones finished sixth (6 points) while James Clemens was No. 7 (4 points) in Class 7A.
Individually, Bob Jones’ Parker Free finished runner-up in the state No. 1 singles action losing to Jake Wilson of Spain Park 6-1, 6-2 in the finals.
Track and Field
The track and field championships were rewarding for many of the local athletes. Sparkman won the girls 4×100 relay gold medal and Madison Academy took similar honors in the Class 5A division by taking the girls 4×100 relay and relay participant Liyah Nelson also won a gold medal in the 100-meter race.
In team scoring, in Class 7A, Vestavia Hills won the boys state title while Bob Jones was No. 11, James Clemens No.14 and Sparkman in at No. 20. In girls, Hoover was tops while Sparkman was tenth, James Clemens No. 14 and Bob Jones No. 18. In 4-5A boys, Bibb County won the title as Madison Academy was No. 28. In girls, Madison Academy finished No. 20 while Brooks High won the overall title.
Golf
Mother Nature got the best of the competitions at the AHSAA Golf State Tournament as heavy rain washed out the final day of play held in Mobile.
Class 7A team title was won by Vestavia Hills in boys, but individually, Jackson Mitchell of James Clemens shot an opening day 71 to finish in third place before the rains hit. Spain Park took the Class 7A state championship in girls.
