Sports
Titles part of Hartselle 14s traditon in district play
Hartselle 14 all-stars celebrate their District 1 championship after dumping Haleyville 12-2 in the final. The district title was the fifth for the group that has been playing together since they were eight.
With the championship, Hartselle advances to the state tournament beginning Friday in Scottsboro.
The Hartselle team has a nucleus that has won five district championships and has reached the state tournament four times.
When playing in the 8-under division, there was no state tournament at the time.
“This group has set a goal for this year to be their best finish yet,” said Hartselle head coach Jeff Howard. “It has been a long time since a group has stayed together and had this kind of success over a seven-year period.
“I’m extremely proud of this group of kids and what they have accomplished. They all get along with each other and they work hard. They’re a great group of kids.”
Hartselle outscored opponents 38-8 during the district tournament.
Hartselle’s Danny Conley finished with three hits in the championship game.
Tanner Oakes, Brady Wallace and Riley Wiggins added two hits each. Also having hits for Hartselle was Dakota Youngblood and Tanner Evans.
Alston Howard and Wallace combined to limit Haleyville to just two runs.
Howard scattered four hits over four innings to pick up the win, while Wallace finished with three strikeouts in the fifth to seal the victory.
Tanner Oakes singled to lead off the game for Hartselle and scored on a single by Danny Conley for the early advantage.
Conley scorded on a wild pitch.
Riley Wiggins’ homer to open the third inning and a Connor Shelton RBI signle pushed the lead to 4-0.
Hartselle broke the game open in the third inning with four runs on five hits. Wiggins and Conley had RBI doubles, while Tanner Evans drove in a run with a triple. Tanner Oakes added an RBI single in the inning for the 8-0 Hartselle advantage.
Hartselle added four more runs in the fourth inning with three hits. Wiggins scored on a passed ball, Tanner Oakes drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Tanner Evans drove in a run on a groundout to second.
Freddie Wallace, Condley and Dakota Youngblood had singles in the inning as Hartselle pushed the lead to 12-0.
Haleyville scored its only runs of the game in the bottom half ofthe fourth inning with three hits.
The Hartselle team includes Tanner Oakes, Connor Shelton, Danny Conley, Dakota Youngblood, Jorden Robinson, Alston Howard, Brady Wallace, Riley Wiggins, Nicholas Hillman, Tanner Evans and Adam Keenum.
The Hartselle team is managed by Jeff Howard. Scott Shelton and Mickey Wallace are the team’s assistant coaches.
