Hartselle sweeps Pell City to advance to semifinals
For the Enquirer
Rain couldn’t deter the Hartselle Tigers in their sweep of Pell City. The series was delayed and then forced to Decatur due to the wet field conditions in Hartselle.
The Tigers, despite the challenges of having to play a home series on the field of one of their bitter rivals, defeated Pell City 6-1 and 2-0 to advance to the Class 6A semifinals against Gardendale. That series will be played in Hartselle.
Hartselle 6, Pell City 1 The Tigers scored all the runs they would need to win in the bottom of the second inning when they plated two runs. After a one-out single from Asher Doepel, Braden Weathers connected on a tworun homer to put Hartselle up 2-0.
After Pell City cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth inning, Hartselle responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Cain Falciani’s bases-loaded walk plated Weathers, who had singled to start the inning. Easton Nelms then walked to bring home Chris Hutson, who was running for Cole Griffin, for a 4-1 lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Falciani doubled to drive home Sam Gillette, who had singled, and Hutson, who was again running for Griffin to push the lead to 6-1.
Jace Meadows earned the win, his third of the playoffs, with a complete game. He allowed only one run on five hits while striking out nine.
Weathers led the Tigers at the plate with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored. Falciani added a hit and three RBIs. Nelms had an RBI.
Hartselle 2, Pell City 0 The Tigers scored single runs in the first and third innings and got an impressive pitching performance by Connor Stiles to earn the Game 2 win.
Hartselle got back-to-back singles by Nelms and Cole Miles to start the first inning. Cruise Baker grounded into a fielder’s choice that drove home Nelms for a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers’ second run came in the third inning when Hutson scored on a passed ball.
Stiles would do the rest as he dominated the Pell City batters. He held them to just one hit in seven innings. He struck out five in picking up the win. Baker led the Tigers at the plate with a hit and an RBI. Nelms had a hit and a run scored. Doepel had a double, while Miles had a single.
Up next
The top-ranked Tigers will host the Gardendale Rockets in a best-of-three game series starting Friday. The Rockets advanced to the semifinals by defeating Mountain Brook. The Tigers will be playing in their fourth semifinals and looking to advance to their fourth state finals in five years.
