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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – The Thompson Warriors continued their torrid form in the opening games of the Jag Classic at the Hoover Met Complex on March 7 and 8 as they made a deep run in a loaded tournament.

Thompson extended its win streak to 17 with victories over the Southside Panthers of Gadsden and Saint James Trojans in pool play and the Hartselle Tigers and Hewitt-Trussville Huskies in bracket play. However, the Warriors would fall by one run in the semifinals to eventual champion Curry in just their second loss of the season.

Thompson cruised through pool play with a pair of seven-run shutouts, the first of which came against Southside-Gadsden.

Kelsey Burden and Olivia Tindell kicked off the game with back-to-back singles before a steal of home and an error sent both of them home for the 2-0 lead.

The Warriors then got into a hole with a pair of outs, but a Hannah Hobbs RBI triple opened up another offensive spurt. Flouroy drew a walk before Hobbs came home off a passed ball. Josie Hamm then capped the inning with an RBI single to increase the lead to 5-0.

Autumn Ingle and Lexi Kelley dominated in the circle and combined for a no-hitter as each had three strong innings. Ingle struck out four while allowing just one walk while Kelley earned five strikeouts against three walks.

Thompson finished off the 7-0 win at the plate in the second inning thanks to a Morgan Adolphus RBI single and an Aubree Hooks sacrifice fly before Ingle and Kelley saw out the no-hitter on defense.

Tindell and Hobbs each finished 2-for-2 as Hobbs had an RBI and a run while Tindell secured two runs.

The Warriors then repeated their no-hit form in the second game of pool play against Saint James. Hooks tore through the Trojans lineup, striking out 12 without allowing a single base runner to secure a six-inning perfect game.

Thompson took the lead for good in the bottom of the first, capitalizing off multiple small-ball plays with back-to-back RBI singles from Kadyn Bush and Hooks for a 2-0 lead.

That lead grew to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth as a pair of singles to start the inning led to a two-out, three-run home run from Burden.

The Warriors then secured three-straight singles in the ensuing inning, with the final one from Flournoy plating two runs and sealing the 7-0 win.

Burden led the offense with her three-run home run and an additional run in a 2-for-4 day. Hooks went 2-for-3 with an RBI single, Flournoy was 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run and Hobbs finished 2-for-3 with a run.

Thompson kicked off bracket play the next day against Hartselle but immediately faced adversity in the form of a Tigers home run on the first at bat of the game.

Ingle recovered to strike out the next three batters before Tindell kickstarted the offense in the bottom half of the inning with a one out single. Bush tied up the game two batters later with an RBI single to center.

The game remained tied with the lead in the balance until the bottom of the third. That was when Adolphus hit a lead-off single and came home off a stolen base and an error to take a 2-1 lead.

However, a lead-off walk proved costly for the Warriors in the top of the fifth when a sacrifice bunt and an RBI double tied up the game at 2-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth.

Thompson responded in kind by bringing Burden home after her own lead-off walk. A ground out put her on second before she stole third base and then beat out a play at the plate off a grounder from Adolphus to take the 3-2 win.

Hooks secured five strikeouts in the final two innings while allowing just one run, one hit and one walk to take the win. Ingle took four strikeouts in the opening 2.2 frames.

The Warriors then found themselves in a tough quarterfinal matchup against the reigning Class 7A state champion Hewitt-Trussville, and once again, it went down to the wire.

After Thompson defeated them 11-2 earlier in the week, it was the Huskies who got the upper hand early off an RBI double and an RBI ground out to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the second.

Flournoy responded with a steal of home in the bottom half of the inning after her lead-off walk led to her reaching second off a ground out and third off a Hamm single.

Hewitt then got a pair of base runners in the top of the third and brought both home off a pair of Warriors miscues, first an error and then a passed ball later in the at-bat.

That increased the lead to 4-1, and that held until the top of the fifth, when a wild pitch made it a 5-1 ball game in the Huskies’ favor.

Thompson needed a big response in the bottom of the fifth and got one. Immediately following back-to-back singles by Tindell and Adolphus to start the inning, Bush launched one to center for a three-run home run that cut the deficit to 5-4.

The Warriors would then capitalize off a lead-off walk in the bottom of the sixth by fighting through a two-out hole to bring Hamm home off an Adolphus hit and tie the game at 5-5.

Hewitt got a ghost runner to start the seventh inning and would bring it home three batters into the inning thanks to a bunt and a sacrifice fly to take a 6-5 lead.

Thompson got the benefit of having the tying run on second to start the bottom of the seventh thanks to the ghost runner of Hobbs, and she came home on a wild pitch following a one-out Blakeley Davis single.

That tied the game before Hamm ended the game in emphatic fashion with a two-run home run to left.

Hamm’s home run gave her a 2-for-3 day with a walk, two RBI and two runs. Bush plated three runs throughout the game and Adolphus finished 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run.

The Warriors then faced Curry in the semifinals, and after they took the lead in the top of the first off a passed ball, the Jackets tied up the game in the bottom of the first and took a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the third.

Flournoy and Jillian Kato tried to spark a comeback in the top of the sixth with run-scoring hits but could only cut the deficit to one before a game-ending strikeout.

The Warriors will be back in action with a pair of county battles on Tuesday, March 11 at 4:30 p.m. against the Helena Huskies and then on Wednesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. against the Spain Park Jaguars. Both games will take place at Thompson High School.