Sarah Finnegan
Homewood's Josh Hall is shown in practice on Jan. 25, 2018. He set the career stolen base record for the state of Alabama last week.
Over the course of the year, The Homewood Star will keep you up to date on the various Homewood High School athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.
BASEBALL
The Homewood baseball team picked up a 13-7 win over Southside-Gadsden on Tuesday. Ben Teel led the way for the Patriots, going 3-for-4 with a home run and six RBIs on the game. Evan Lemak had two hits, two runs and two stolen bases, while Josh Hall scored three times and stole three bases.
The Patriots extended their winning streak to seven games on Wednesday with an 11-1 victory over John Carroll. Hall swiped his 165th career stolen base to set the all-time mark in AHSAA history, and will likely build on that the rest of the season. He stole five bags in the game to go along with three hits and three runs. John Hale and Daniel Patton each recorded two hits, with Hale driving in two runs.
Homewood’s winning streak came to an end on Thursday with a 12-4 loss to Gardendale. The Patriots allowed eight runs over the final two innings to allow the Rockets to pull away. Hall had a solid game, going 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs and two stolen bases. Patton had two hits and two RBIs and Lemak drove in a run as well.
Homewood got back on track with a doubleheader sweep of Pinson Valley on Saturday. In an 11-0 win in the first game, Hall picked up two hits and two stolen bases, while Teel drove in a pair of runs. Lemak was 3-for-3 with two doubles. Hale allowed just one hit on the mound. In the second game, the Patriots scored four in the second to recover from an early hole and pulled away with a three-run sixth.
SOFTBALL
The Homewood softball team lost to Pleasant Grove, 6-5, on Tuesday. Pleasant Grove broke the seal on a tie game with the eventual winning run in the seventh inning. Jakaria Byrd led the way offensively for the Patriots, collecting a pair of hits, including a triple, in the game.
On Thursday, the Patriots fell to Calera, 20-2.
SOCCER
The Homewood boys soccer team grabbed a 5-0 win over Cullman on Monday night. Five different Patriots scored goals, and keeper Ian Myers had a clean sheet. Jake Henderson, Stanford Massie, Eric Hepp, Connor Smith, Collins Keith and Ammar Alarer scored the goals for Homewood.
The Homewood girls fell to Hoover, 2-0, on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the boys settled for a scoreless tie with Oak Mountain in the Metro Tournament.
The Homewood boys picked up a 2-1 win over Florence on Thursday. Smith scored both goals for the Patriots. Jackson Wallace, Keith and Mac Wooley scored goals for the Patriots on Friday in a 3-0 win over Helena. Myers had a clean sheet.
TENNIS
The Homewood tennis teams were swept by Briarwood on Wednesday. On Friday, the girls were defeated by Altamont, 7-2.
TRACK AND FIELD
The Homewood outdoor track and field teams hosted the Homewood Invitational at Samford University on Saturday. For the girls, Jasmine Griffin placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.04 seconds. Griffin won the 100 hurdles in 14.93 seconds. Lainey Phelps finished second in the 800-meter run, coming home in 2:15.05. The 4x100 relay team came across first in 48.38. Aiya Finch won the long jump competition with a distance of 17 feet, 10.5 inches. Christian Hill’s 17-3.75 was good for third. Hill also placed third in the triple jump (35-3.5). Alex Brooks cleared 10-6 to finish third in the pole vault.
For the boys, Will Stone won the 3,200-meter run in 9:31.21. Josh Thomas reached 22-5.5 in the long jump to finish second and came home third in the triple jump with a distance of 45-11. Patrick McMahon’s discus throw of 143-7 was good enough for third.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
