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PREP ROUNDUP: Decatur's Howard to wrestle for state championship

the decatur daily, ala.
·4 min read

Feb. 17—Decatur's Oliver Howard will wrestle for his second straight state title Saturday when championship matches begin at the 2024 AHSAA State Wrestling Championships at the Von Braun Center.

Howard defeated McAdory's Erik Lessears by a 5-1 decision in the Class 6A, 190-pound semifinals on Friday and will face Mountain Brook's Sam Carroll for the individual title. Championship matches are scheduled to begin at noon.

Howard enters Saturday's championship match with an unbeaten record of 39-0. He also went undefeated en route to winning the Class 6A, 160-pound championship last year.

Joining Howard in the Class 6A championship round is Hartselle's Gage Roberts (126 pounds) and Jameson Falciani (215 pounds) and Athens' Will Anderson (144 pounds).

Roberts defeated Saraland's CJ Helveston by pinfall to advance, while Falciani scored a pinfall victory over Center Point's Malik Brown. Anderson also won via pinfall, defeating Helena's James Alford in the semifinals.

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Baseball

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Priceville 9, Austin 5: Colman Gann allowed two runs on three hits over five innings to pick up the win for Priceville in its season opener Friday, striking out nine.

Tyde Borden led the Priceville offense with two hits, including a double, and two RBIs, while Kane Dunn added a hit and two RBIs.

Wes Walker went 2-for-2 with an RBI and Jake Borden had a hit and drove in one run. Brodie Brown and Deacon Hall had one RBI each.

Levi Morgan homered, singled and drove in four runs for Austin.

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Decatur 6, New Hope 2: Sam Stephenson went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs to lead Decatur on Friday.

Trey Greenwell singled and drove in a run and Put Webster pitched five innings for the win, allowing one run on one hit while striking out five.

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Hartselle 5, Gardendale 4: Jo Williamson doubled and drove in two runs for Hartselle in a close win on Friday.

Asher Doepel singled and drove in two runs for the Tigers, while Cade Miles added a double and one RBI. Jace Meadows pitched 5 1/3 innings for the win, allowing four runs on six hits with a pair of strikeouts.

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Hatton 6, Sulligent 1: Ian Crosslin pitched five innings for Hatton on Friday, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out six.

Garson Pierce worked two innings to pick up the win, allowing one walk and one hit with five strikeouts. Alex Brackin had a hit and one RBI, while Pierce and Canaan Speegle added one RBI each.

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Deshler 8, Lawrence County 2: Caden Norwood singled and drove in a run for Lawrence County on Friday. Noah Dutton, Tripp Engle and Wyatt Knight added one hit each for the Red Devils.

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Decatur 5, East Limestone 3: Harris Penley and Reeves Waller had one hit and two RBIs each for Decatur on Thursday.

Greenwell had three hits and one RBI for the Red Raiders and Grayson Marion pitched two innings of relief for the win.

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Softball

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Hartselle 5, Hazel Green 2: Katie Norgard tripled, doubled and drove in three runs for Hartselle on Friday.

Katie Gillott and Chloe Gray had one RBI each for the Tigers, while Bailey Lawrence pitched four innings for the win, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts.

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Hartselle 5, Oak Mountain 2: Gillott and Kaelyn Jones homered and drove in one run for Hartselle, while Norgard, Brityan Godfrey and Morgan Osborn added one hit and one RBI each.

Blayne Godfrey pitched all five innings for the win, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts.

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Chelsea 7, Austin 5: Arden Breedlove homered and drove in two runs for Austin on Friday.

Abby Lindsey had a hit and two RBIs for the Black Bears and Claire Wright had two hits.

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Pell City 4, Austin 3: Breedlove homered for the Black Bears. Lindsey and Kinsley Higdon drove in one run each, while Wright and Khalilah Mason added one hit each.

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West Limestone 0, Vestavia Hills 0: JuliAnn Kyle pitched 4 1/3 innings as the Wildcats played Vestavia Hills to a scoreless tie on Friday.

Kyle allowed five hits and a pair of walks while striking out seven. Bella Birdsong singled for West Limestone's only hit.

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Decatur 14, Mae Jemison 4: Annabelle Matthews doubled twice and drove in three runs for Decatur in a big win on Thursday.

Alyssa Dothard had two hits and two RBIs for the Red Raiders, while Elizabeth Kresch added a hit and two RBIs.

Dothard pitched five innings for the win, allowing two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts.

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Soccer

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Priceville girls 10, Tanner 0: AK Hopkins scored eight goals to lead Priceville to a big win on Friday.

Anna Leigh Pilkington and Madelyn Kennedy had one goal and one assist each for the Bulldogs, while Aubrey Owens added an assist. Tori Staats recorded five saves in the shutout.

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Tanner boys 4, Priceville 1: McClain Lawson had a goal for Priceville on Friday.