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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CALERA – The Helena Huskies carried over their momentum from a midweek area win over rival Pelham with four wins in two days at tournament action in Calera.

Helena defeated the Calera Eagles 7-4 and Mortimer Jordan Blue Devils 7-0 on Friday, April 4 before beating the Elmore County Panthers 7-3 and Marbury Bulldogs 5-0 on Saturday, April 5 at the Eagle Sports Complex in Calera.

In the first game of the tournament, Calera took an early 1-0 lead off an RBI ground out after an Isabella Overton double to start the bottom of the first. That lead held through the end of the third inning before Helena struck in a big way.

After Lily Sanderson doubled to start the inning, Addison Draiss brought her home with an RBI single to tie the game up at 1-1. Two batters later, Carrington Schiefer took the first pitch she saw to center field for a double, which gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead.

While the next batter struck out to put Helena in a two-out hole, a Tatum Cooper RBI single and an error off a Gracie Storey fly ball took the lead to 4-1 before the end of the inning.

However, the Eagles responded in the home half of the inning, loading up two base runners on a Lily Townsend double and an Alyssa Quintanilla walk before Alexi Johnson hit a single to right. Calera scored one run off the hit before another came home off an error from the outfield, cutting the deficit to 4-3.

Johnson would then come home on a ground out after a pitching change to tie the game up at 4-4 ahead of the end of the fourth.

While the fifth inning came and went without a run, Marlee Parsons quickly plated the ghost runner on second to start the top of the sixth with an RBI single to take the lead. A Storey RBI ground out and a passed ball helped Helena extend the cushion to three runs and take the 7-4 win.

Cooper went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs and an RBI while Macie Brashears went 2-for-4.

Schiefer took the win with four strikeouts in the first three innings, and Parsons secured the save by allowing no hits and just one walk in the final three innings, striking out four in the process.

Calera’s Townsend was the team’s lone batter with multiple hits as she went 2-for-3 with a run.

In the second game of the day against Mortimer Jordan, neither team scored in the first inning, but Helena opened up a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.

That opening run came after Storey drew a two-out walk and made it all the way around the bases thanks to a passed ball and an error by the catcher.

Another error pit two runners on for Sanderson, who hit an RBI single to double up the lead. Draiss took that lead to 4-0 on the very next pitch with a double to left.

The Huskies then got a one-out single from Cooper in the bottom of the third but quickly got their second out. However, an Izabel Vice walk kept the inning alive long enough for Brashears to hit a home run to extend the lead to 7-0.

That proved to be enough to end the game after the top of the fourth as Parsons got the complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits and no walks in four innings.

Sanderson went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a run and an RBI, and Draiss and Brashears each finished with multiple RBI on the back of their big scoring plays.

The next day against Elmore County, the Huskies played small ball after a lead-off double from Destiny Brashears to start the second inning. A Cooper sacrifice bunt moved her to third before a ground ball to second by Storey plated the opening run.

Helena took that lead to 2-0 in the top of the third when Sanderson scored from first after walking to begin the inning thanks to a double from Draiss.

Hayden Traywick singled to keep the rally going before Schiefer plated both runners with an RBI double, increasing the lead to 4-0. Storey then singled two batters later to score Schiefer and make it a 5-0 ball game.

That lead ballooned to 7-0 in the top of the fourth off a Traywick ground out and a Schiefer RBI single on back-to-back plays.

The Panthers would strike before the game ended, hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth before a two-out rally led to a two-run single. However, the game ended due to the time limit during the next at-bat, giving Helena the 7-3 win.

Draiss was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs and an RBI while Schiefer went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run.

In the final game of the tournament against Marbury, Helena took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a Draiss ground out to score Macie Brashears.

An error and a walk with one out in the bottom of the third set up the Huskies for more success. Two batters later, Draiss and Traywick hit back-to-back RBI singles to extend the lead to 4-0 ahead of the end of the inning.

Baleigh Sprouse then scored on a fly out in the bottom of the fourth in the final play of the game as Helena finished off the 5-0 win and undefeated run through the tournament.

Parsons went the distance to secure the win, striking out five batters in four innings while shutting out the Bulldogs and allowing just one hit and one walk.

Helena improved to 19-8-2 with the wins and will return to action with a non-area game against the Brookwood Panthers on Thursday, April 10 at 4:30 p.m. at Helena High School. The Huskies will then play in the Hornet Invitational on April 11 and 12 at the Chelsea Sports Complex.

Calera finished out the tournament with a 2-2 record, falling 6-5 to Elmore County but defeating Bibb County 6-5 and Marbury 4-3 on Saturday, April 5. The Eagles are now 6-16 going into a crucial area game against the Benjamin Russell Wildcats on Tuesday, April 8 at 4:30 p.m. at Eagle Sports Complex.