BASKETBALL REACHES FINAL FOUR; SPRING SPORTS UNDERWAY

BASKETBALL The Mountain Brook boys basketball team continued its quest to win its third consecutive Class 7A state championship, when the Spartans defeated Vestavia Hills last Tuesday in the Northwest Regional final. Click here for a full recap of the game. BASEBALL The Mountain Brook baseball team began its 2019 season last week, despite the weather’s attempt to wreak havoc on the schedule. The Spartans opened the season on Monday with a trip to Gardendale, where the Rockets pushed past Mountain Brook 2-1 on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mountain Brook scored a run before an out was even recorded, as John Marks, Will Yarbro and Harrison Ware all notched hits before Colton Yeager’s sacrifice fly. Will Baynes, Edward Berry and Curt Gann kept the Rockets off the board until the two-run hit to end the contest. Marks, Yarbro and Ware combined to record all six of the Spartans’ hits. Mountain Brook got in the win column for the first time on Thursday with a 7-4 win over Oak Mountain. Ford Kelly’s grand slam put the punctuation mark on a six-run fifth inning for the Spartans and gave them the lead. Yarbro’s solo homer lifted Mountain Brook to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, before Oak Mountain rallied for three runs in the third inning and tacked on another in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead in the contest. Clark Griffin got the win with two innings of hitless relief. On Friday, the Spartans notched a convincing 15-2 victory over Northridge. They put 12 runs on the board in the third inning to effectively put the game away. In the contest, Marks went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBIs. Yarbro notched a pair of hits, including a double, to go along with two runs and three RBIs. Yeager drove in a pair of runs, and Baynes hurled five innings, surrendering five hits and two runs while striking out 12. Mountain Brook picked up two more wins on Saturday, a 14-1 triumph over John Carroll and a 9-3 win over Clay-Chalkville. Against John Carroll, Marks and Collin Bussman each notched three RBIs. Against Clay, Marks concluded a stellar opening week with a 3-for-4 performance, slugging a home run and driving in three runs. Ware registered two hits and knocked in three. Next week, the Spartans travel to Chelsea on Monday and play in the Mid-Mississippi Classic Thursday through Saturday. SOCCER Neither Mountain Brook varsity soccer team played a game this past week, as all scheduled dates were rained out. But both Spartans squads will return to the pitch this week. The boys (3-0-1) will play at Clay-Chalkville on Tuesday and at Vestavia Hills on Thursday. The girls (2-0-2) will host Chelsea on Tuesday before traveling to the Southeastern Shootout this coming weekend. SOFTBALL Mountain Brook’s softball team was finally able to get its season underway last weekend, as the Spartans played a pair of games on Saturday. The Spartans fell to Jemison 6-0 and dropped a 3-0 game to John Carroll. The Spartans host Homewood this Monday, travel to Pelham on Wednesday, host McAdory on Thursday and play in Spain Park’s Jaguar Classic over the weekend. LACROSSE The Mountain Brook boys lacrosse team played once last week, defeating Auburn 18-9 on Saturday.

BASKETBALL REACHES FINAL FOUR; SPRING SPORTS UNDERWAY

Photo Credit: Kamp Fender