It was a big weekend for softball tournaments around the state, and two local teams made the best of a busy couple of days. Class 5A No. 4 Hayden took the top prize in the Blount County Tournament as Class 6A No. 4 Gardendale finished second in the Claw Classic.

Blount County Tournament

Fourth-ranked Hayden came through with wins over Cleveland, Locust Fork and J.B. Pennington on its way to an undefeated climb to the tournament championship.

The Wildcats downed J.B. Pennington, 17-2, in the title game. Infielder Brooke Meadows delivered a three-run home run in that lopsided contest.

Hayden pitcher Sharley Miller took home MVP honors, according to the Blount County Sports Facebook page.

Claw Classic (Jasper)

No. 4 Gardendale improved to 27-11-1 with wins over Winfield, Class 4A No. 10 Carbon Hill, Class 7A No. 6 Spain Park and Brookwood, but came up short in the tournament finals against host team Sumiton Christian.

Class 2A’s defending state champions and top-ranked Eagles got a little revenge on Gardendale, who beat them 4-3 on Thursday night. Sumiton Christian (32-6) also won last week’s Tournament of Champions at Curry.

For the Rockets, Carlee McCondichie finished the tournament 11-for-20 with nine runs scored while Brooke Lyles went 9-for-19 with three doubles. Baleigh Moffett logged a 7-for-20 outing with eight RBIs and Chandler Mims went 7-for-14 with four RBIs and a pair of doubles.

Senior right-hander Bryndi-Alyn Ward picked up two more wins in nine innings on the rubber.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.