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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

ALBERTVILLE – Trailing two-time defending state champion Hewitt-Trussville 3-1 through three innings of play with the season on the line on Wednesday, May 7, the Thompson Warriors didn’t panic.

With one elimination win over rival Hoover a day earlier, the Warriors stayed calm and put together a clutch inning that helped them earn the second qualifying spot out of the East Regional to advance to the Class 7A State Tournament.

It was a six-run top of the fourth inning that ultimately made the difference in an 8-5 victory over the Huskies.

Facing a 4-1 deficit, the Warriors put together a furious rally in the fourth that started with a lead-off double from Aubree Hooks.

Two batters later, it took just one swing of the bat to give Thompson the momentum it needed when Whitney Holtzapfel blasted a two-run home run over the wall in center field that quickly made it a one-run game.

Still down 4-3, the Warriors strung together three consecutive walks to load the bases and keep the threat alive. A two-RBI double from Olivia Tindell and back-to-back RBI singles from Kadyn Bush and Hannah Hobbs added two more runs and quickly took Thompson from a three-run deficit to a three-run advantage at 7-4.

From there, attention shifted to Hooks in the circle, who put the Huskies down in order in the bottom half of the fourth. She gave up only one hit in the fifth and got out of a small jam in the sixth by allowing just one run.

Still up 7-5 going to the final inning, Thompson added an insurance run thanks to a lead-off triple being followed by an RBI single from Hooks to make it 8-5.

Hooks then finished the game off with one last 1-2-3 inning to preserve the 8-5 win and send the Warriors to state.

Thompson’s other run came in the top of the first on an RBI double from Bush, who finished the game 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Holtzapfel also finished with two hits and two RBIs in the win, while Tindell added one hit and two RBIs.

Hobbs and Hooks each had multi-hit games with two apiece, also adding one RBI each. In the circle, Hooks got the win, striking out three and allowing one unearned run on three hits.

The win gave Thompson two straight and redemption to earn a spot at state after the Warriors fell to the Huskies in the opening round of the tournament by one run in an 8-7 loss before bouncing back to take down rival Hoover 5-2 in an elimination game.

In the win over Hoover, Kelsey Burden and Aubrey Bauer were key at the plate with two hits apiece and a combined three RBIs. Bush also added an RBI, while Hooks and Morgan Adolphus both had key hits leading to runs scored.

Bush got the win in the circle in that game, pitching the first three innings and giving up two runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Hooks finished the game in the circle, allowing no hits or runs with two strikeouts.