By Gary Lloyd
Clay-Chalkville will host Grissom on Friday in the first round of the Class 6A state baseball playoffs.
The Cougars (22-10, 7-2 Class 6A, Area 13) host Class 6A, Area 14 runner-up Grissom at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday. Should a third game be necessary, it will be Saturday at 1 p.m.
“I think it will be a good first round against them,” said sophomore Tyler Duke
. “We are playing at our best right now and at the right time.”
Clay-Chalkville last week wrapped up the Class 6A, Area 13 championship with a 16-4 win at Gadsden City. The win was also career win No. 400 for Clay-Chalkville head coach Brandon Johnson.
Clay-Chalkville won 10 games in a row earlier this season after losing five of six games between March 12 and March 18. In those 10 consecutive wins, Clay-Chalkville outscored its opponents 73-23. The Cougars have won three straight games — all over area opponent Gadsden City — entering the playoffs.
The Cougars this season have gotten no-hitters from sophomore Matthew Calvert, senior Jordan Rutter and junior Stephen Blackshear.
Should Clay-Chalkville win the series against Grissom, it will face the winner of the No. 3 Huntsville vs. Oxford series next weekend.
“If we keep playing this way, we have a real good chance of going all the way,” Duke said. “We just have to want it and fight for it.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.