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The Helena Huskies started the Buccaneer Classic in dominant form as they beat Fairview, Illinois’ Oak Lawn and Prattville before taking the fight to Tuscaloosa County and Tennessee’s Clarksville. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – The Helena Huskies picked up some key wins over spring break as they finished the Buccaneer Classic with a 3-2 record.

Helena defeated the Fairview Aggies 13-5 and Illinois’ Oak Lawn Spartans 11-1 in six innings on Wednesday, March 26 at the Hoover Met Complex ahead of a 5-0 win over Class 7A Prattville on Thursday, March 27.

The Huskies would then lose their last two games of the tournament, first to a Class 7A top-10 Tuscaloosa County side by a score of 4-2 ahead of a 15-7 loss to Tennessee’s Clarksville Wildcats.

In the first game of the tournament against Fairview, Helena got a rally going in the top of the second and drew a walk with one out to load up the bases.

After a line out dropped the Huskies to two outs, an error gave them a 1-0 lead and started five-straight scoring plays. Davis Kelley then came home off a wild pitch before Jonathan Roberto scored on a bases-loaded hit by pitch.

Nick Peters then hit an RBI single to plate two runs ahead of another wild pitch that made the lead 6-0 after two innings.

That lead became 9-0 in the top of the third thanks to another string of two-out offense. Nate Jones started it with an RBI single before Brett Cannon got plunked to put two on for Jarret Scott. After a double steal, he ripped an RBI triple into right field to clear the bases and make the lead 9-0.

While the Huskies were rolling off a strong start to the game from pitcher Justin Mullenix, a lead-off walk followed by a one-out single let the Aggies claw their way back into the game. Fairview hit four more singles on the next five at-bats, three of which scored runs to cut the deficit to 9-4.

However, a trio of free batters in the top of the fifth let Helena build out a bigger lead once again. Facing two outs with the bases loaded, Peters sent a shot into center field that led to another bases-clearing triple, extending the lead to 12-4.

The Aggies scored again in the bottom of the fifth off a one-out error, but the Huskies restored their eight-run lead with a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh right before they finished off the 13-5 win.

Peters finished the game with five RBI off a 2-for-4 outing with a walk. Scott went 1-for-2 with three RBI, three runs and two walks.

Immediately after that game finished, the Huskies were dominant against an out-of-state opponent in Illinois’ Oak Lawn thanks to a big performance on the bump from Brayden Dockery.

He controlled the Spartans through his four-inning start, striking out 10 batters while allowing just three hits and no walks.

However, two of those hits in the third led to Oak Lawn’s lone run of the day. Two batters after a one-run single, the Spartans dropped a double into center field to score the opening run of the game.

Helena immediately got a pair aboard freely before getting a chance to open the scoring. The Spartans attempted to turn a 6-4-3 double play, but they only got the runner at second before an error at first let Scott reach freely. Jones scored during the chaos to tie the game at 1-1.

While the next batter grounded out, Braydon Kendrick kicked off a two-out rally with a double to center to take the lead. Kelley then got a hit by a pitch to put two on for Lane Harris, who also tested center field and got an RBI single in the process for a 3-1 lead.

In the next inning, three of the first four Huskies batters reached ahead of a bases-loaded walk that took the lead to 4-1. With the bases still juiced, Kendrick came up big again with a two-run single to center that made it a 6-1 game.

That forced a pitching change from Oak Lawn, and while it got a strikeout to begin with, an error off a pick-off attempt left two in scoring position for Harris. He hit his second RBI single in as many innings, this time driving in two runs for the 8-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, after a lead-off walk reached, the Spartans got the next two batters out before a pair of walks leaded up the bases. Oak Lawn’s pitcher then committed two balks in the same at-bat to bring Jones and Bradley Wainwright home to increase the lead to 10-1.

While the Huskies needed to wait until the sixth inning to trigger the run rule, they made quick work of the Spartans in the bottom of the sixth. A lead-off single by Harris followed by a pair of walks set up Jones to just need a sacrifice fly to finish off the 11-1 win, which he did so to score Harris.

Harris was 3-for-4 with three RBI while Kendrick finished 2-for-2 with a walk, three RBI and two runs.

Brody Butler came in for the final two innings and finished off the win, striking out three batters while allowing just one walk that he quickly dispatched with in a double play and no hits.

Helena continued its hot streak the next day when it took on Prattville.

Back-to-back triples kicked off the bottom of the first in a big way for Helena as Scott drove Cannon home for the early 1-0 lead.

From there, the Huskies went on a two-out rally in the bottom of the second as a Cannon RBI double plated both Samuel Odom and Jones after they reached on a single and an error, respectively.

Helena got the advantage of free base runners to begin the bottom of the third as a walk and a hit by pitch let the first two batters reach. While the Huskies got out trying to reach third, they would get a pair into scoring position on a passed ball during the ensuing at bat.

Hudson Campbell then made the lead 4-0 with an RBI single to left field.

The fourth started much like the third inning with both of the first two batters reaching freely, this time off a walk and an error. The next batter struck out, and the Lions tried to go around the horn on the ensuing pitch to get an inning-ending double play.

While Prattville got the out at second, Peters reached first to both extend the inning and allow Jones to score to finish off the 5-0 score line.

John Englezos earned the win with six shutout innings, striking out seven while working around five hits and four walks to keep the run column clean. Campbell finished the job with a perfect seventh.

Cannon led the offense with a 2-for-4 day with two RBI and a run while Odom finished 2-for-3 with a run.

However, the Huskies finished their week with a pair of losses to Tuscaloosa County and Clarksville to end the tournament with a 3-2 record.

That helped Helena improve to 16-10 on the year. The Huskies will return to action on Wednesday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. at home against the Chelsea Hornets for the first of two area games in as many days.

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