Hartselle junior pitcher Garrett Wade. | Caleb Suggs

Caleb Suggs

Hartselle Enquirer

The Hartselle Tigers baseball knew they were getting thrown into the fire eerily as they faced several top 6A and 7A teams during opening week including Southside, who advanced to the class 6A semifinals last year, and Oxford, who advanced to the class 6A quarterfinals. Hartselle opened the season with a double header against Southside and 7A powerhouse Sparkman. Hartselle split their two games by defeating Southside before falling to Sparkman.

Southside took the lead first off an RBI single from Baylon Fry. Austin Parker tied it up with a solo homerun but Southside retook the lead 2-1 in the fifth. Hartselle tied the game 2-2 in the fifth when Garrett Wade scored on a passed ball. The Tigers took complete control in the sixth by scoring four runs. The biggest play came form Garrett Wade who was able to turn a single into three bases thanks to errors and drove in two runs in the process. Brady Netherton and Matt James also drove in runs during the inning. Hartselle kept that lead and own the game 6-2. Brady Netherton took the pitching win for the Tigers. Netherton pitched all seven innings with seven strikeouts while giving up four hits and one run.

Hartselle lost the second game to Sparkman. The Senators scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back before eventually winning 8-1.