By Staff
Sweep of Lawrence Co. American sends Hartselle 13's to state tourney
Justin Schuver, Hartselle Enquirer
The Hartselle 13-Year-Old Dixie Boys All-Stars swept Lawrence County American, 11-5, 5-3, in the best-of-three consolation series played at Sparkman Park July 12. With the wins, Hartselle finished as District 1 runner-up and advanced to the state tournament in Scottsboro beginning Friday.
Game 2
Hartselle 5
Lawrence Co. American 3
Hartselle fell behind 2-0 after four innings before scoring three runs in the fourth and two in the sixth to sweep away the Americans. Ethan Rose picked up the win for Hartselle, pitching the complete game while allowing five hits and two earned runs and striking out 10.
Hartselle got the fifth inning started when Rose led off with a walk and Corey Holladay reached on an error to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Chance Partlow then rapped a double down the right-field line, scoring Holladay and Cody Anders, who was pinch running for Rose. Neely Kirby's one-out groundout scored Partlow.
Hartselle added two runs in the sixth, as Rose once again led off with a walk. Partlow hit a one-out single and both Partlow and pinch runner Anders came home to score on Seth Wiley's RBI single up the middle.
Partlow was a force all game long at the top of the line-up, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Game 1
Hartselle 11
Lawrence Co. American 5
Ryland Blankenship struck out 14 batters and allowed just two earned runs in Hartselle's series-opening win. The two teams played an exciting back-and-forth contest before Hartselle broke through with five runs in the fifth inning to put the game away.
The Americans scored first in the second inning but Hartselle came back with two in bottom of the third to take a 2-1 lead. That lead did not last long, as Lawrence County scored two runs in the top of the fourth to take a one-run advantage. Hartselle tied the game at 3-all with a run in the bottom of the fourth but the Americans moved back in front 4-3 in the top of the fifth inning. Then the Hartselle offense got in gear.
Kirby led off with a walk, Blankenship hit a single and Lonnie Dumas walked to load the bases with nobody out. Jake Johnson came through with one out and a full count, hitting a single up the middle to score Kirby and Anders, pinch running for Blankenship. Dumas scored one batter later on a balk by Americans pitcher Landon Proctor.
Brandon McNutt reached base with a two-out walk and he and Johnson came home to score on an RBI single from Partlow. Hartselle added three more runs in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach.
Partlow finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs and Wiley was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Anders, Dumas and McNutt each scored two runs and Terry Wiggins and Johnson scored one run each. Johnson finished with three RBIs.