Hewitt-Trussville defeated Thompson, twice, to win the high school softball championship in Alabama. It took more than 12 hours to play both games because of weather.
Fortunately, the umpiring controversy likely did not play an important role in the result.
This latest high school softball saga should force the AHSAA to reconsider its playoff structure. The governing body of high school sports in Alabama should also review its officiating.
Hewitt-Trussville defeated Thompson, twice.
Thompson High School is located in Alabaster, Alabama. It enrolls ~2,000 students in Grades 9-12. Hewitt-Trussville High School is located in Trussville, Alabama. It enrolls ~1,600 students in Grades 9-12.
Both programs play on the Class 7A level of high school softball competition. They met in the state championship series on Thursday.
Thompson actually run-ruled Hewitt-Trussville on Tuesday, which forced the Huskies to play their way back into the championship series through the losers bracket. They needed to win two games to claim the state title. The Warriors cruised to the championship series with a dominant win in the semifinals. They needed to win only one game to claim the state title.
Game 1 of the two-game series was a blowout. Hewitt-Trussville flipped the script on Thompson and won in five innings by run rule, 11-0. However, the Warriors had their momentum squashed in the second inning when the home plate umpire made a horrible decision at the plate. He ruled an obvious foul ball — that literally hit off of the batter’s thigh — as a hit.
Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the 2nd of the state championship, Thompson finally got a little spark to kick off their at bat but the umps rule this a hit rather than a foul ball and don’t overturn it. It leads to a double play and ruined momentum. Clearly a foul ball. pic.twitter.com/12O1urp4Lb
— Alec Etheredge SCR (@AlecEtheredgeSC) May 22, 2026
The batter did not run down to first base because (she thought) it was a foul ball off of her leg. The Huskies were able to turn a double play.
Maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe Thompson would’ve grounded into a double play on the next pitch anyway. Or maybe Thompson would’ve rallied. We don’t know. It was an awful ruling either way.
One high school softball game over two days.
Game one went in favor of the team that played out of the loser’s bracket, which forced a game two. It got underway around 9:32 p.m. CT on Thursday night. Hewitt-Trussville took a 2-1 lead over Thompson in the bottom of the fifth inning. That was around 11:00 p.m.
Weather became an issue in the bottom of the sixth.
High school softball games are only seven innings long. The 2-1 score held until the top of the seventh. The Warriors were down to their last three outs when the skies opened up. It was a torrential downpour.
Officials agreed to continue the game. They were hoping to finish the contest on Thursday night and got through the first two outs of the inning before the conditions became unplayable.
Oh. My. Goodness. 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th, and the skies have opened up. We’re in a delay at 11:26pm and the infield is so wet that they can’t complete the tarp job.
— Kyle Parmley 🥎 (@KyleParmley) May 22, 2026
Holy cow.
Hewitt-Trussville leads Thompson 2-1, needing one out for the state title. pic.twitter.com/xT6plzb9B7
There was exactly one out remaining in the deciding state championship game when it was postponed. The infield was already so wet that the grounds crew could not complete the tarp job.
Hewitt-Trussville led Thompson 2-1 with two outs in the top of the seventh inning when the game was finally postponed until the morning at midnight. Teams went back to their hotels. They were asked to be back on the field — at a different stadium about 30 minutes away — on Friday morning.
The game picked up where it left off at 9:00 a.m. It took only three pitches for the Huskies to secure the victory.
It took 4 pitches. Hewitt-Trussville wins the 7A state title 2-1 pic.twitter.com/ZTstyOkys0
— Ben Thomas (@BenThomasPreps) May 22, 2026
They played seven games in two (and a half) days. They finally won the Alabama Class 7A high school softball championship in the top of the seventh inning on Friday morning— more than eight hours after the seventh inning got underway.
A wild series of events unfolded in the Alabama 7A softball championship. Hewitt-Trussville needed just one more out to defeat Thompson for the state title, but monsoon-like rain postponed the game until the next morning, when the Huskies finished the job. 🥎🌧️
— MaxPreps (@MaxPreps) May 22, 2026
(🎥via… pic.twitter.com/xH0Jit6f4U
It is a week they will never forget.
As fun of a story as it might be for the Hewitt-Trussville players to one day tell their children, there is no reason for the state championship game to be decided at 11:30 p.m. (which later became the next morning). Alabama must reconsider its bracket format. It must also review its umpires. The foul ball call during game one of the two-game championship series cannot happen.