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William Andre, Carter Jackman and Jaxson Wood led No.7 Hoover to a 6-2 win over fifth-ranked Hewitt-Trussville in a decisive third game in the opening round of the AHSAA Class 7A baseball playoffs in Trussville on Saturday afternoon.
The Bucs will host James Clemens in quarterfinal action next weekend.
“We have good senior leadership on his team, and they wanted to attack the day,” Hoover coach Adam Moseley said. “We knew that their guys were not going away. We couldn’t worry about what they were doing. We had to take care of our business.”
RELATED: Saturday’s highlights, scores
Andre, who didn’t allow a Husky hit until the fifth inning, faced the minimum on the mound for three innings. Meanwhile, Jackman was 2-for-4 with two RBIs to the Bucs’ offense.
“Those are two of our seniors that come to work everyday,” Moseley said. “William has probably been our most consistent pitcher since spring break. He works hard everyday. Carter has been hurt most of the season, but he continued to battle through things.”
Hewitt-Trussville made the game interesting in the bottom of the seventh inning, but an interference call ended the game. WIth the bases loaded, Steele Hall hit a high chopper up in the middle. Hoover shortstop Jaxson Wood caught the grounder, stepped on second and fired a throw to first. Hall beat the throw but was called out because of the Husky runner sliding into second base.
“I don’t think that play changed the outcome of the game,” Hewitt-Trussville coach Jeff Mauldin said. “We could have had a chance to tie with our top home run hitter coming up with two men on base and down by three. I am just proud of the way that our kids kept battling. Hoover is a good team. Unfortunately, two top ten teams have to play in the opening round of the playoffs.”
Star of the Game: While Andre battled on the mound, Jackman and Wood starred in the game. Wood, who committed to Tennessee, was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. He led off the game with a single and a double in the top of the sixth inning. Jackman, who had a clutch two out two run single in the series opener, drove in a pair of runs.
Stat Sheet: Hewitt Trussville pitchers walked two and hit three Bucs in the game and gave four unearned runs.
Coachspeak: “We have dedicated this series to everyone that has been so helpful to us during our time of need. We are so appreciative of our school administration and the fellow coaches and teams that have supported us. Our kids have continued to battle and work hard. We just want to say thank you for the support.” — Moseley.
“Hewitt-Trussville has a heck of a team and program. It feels good to advance and play at home next week. You never want an umpire’s call to decide a game. I didn’t see what happened because I was getting ready to call the next pitch. ” — Moseley on the interference to end the game.
They Said it: “You can’t give a team like Hoover anything. They are a solid program and have good players. Coach Moseley does an excellent job. This is not the way we wanted to end the season. However, I am proud of our kids and the way that we battled.” — Mauldin.
Up Next: Hoover will host ninth-ranked James Clemens, which swept Grissom, in a second-round series next week.
