by Erik Harris
It would appear that Mother Nature owed Hartselle’s legendary coach William Booth a favor. Exactly what she did to get in debt with the Tigers’ coach of 26 years is unknown, nevertheless the two seasoned veterans got even at the most opportune time- moments before the state playoffs semifinal round.
She flew in from the West to do her damage and push Friday’s games back to Saturday, giving Booth’s ace pitcher Jackson Smith his needed rest to take the hill for game one with Pinson Valley.
Smith would have been ineligible to pitch Friday, due to throwing a complete game on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.
Extra help from above was the last thing Hartselle needed as they protected their home turf with a two-game sweep to advance to the state finals.
“We are excited and just so thankful that we won tonight. We didn’t know if we could win tonight, but we played all phases of the game so well tonight: defensively, offensively and pitched it well so we are very satisfied,” said Booth, the state’s all-time winningest baseball coach.
They took game one 7-2 and ended the second by mercy rule 10-0 after six innings.
The ninth-ranked Indians stranded 16 runners in the final four series, eight in both contests. The Tigers stranded only five all day.
Pinson ends their season 32-14. Hartselle improves to 42-15 and will face the winner of Spanish Fort-Russell County for the class 5A state championship series.
“Our seniors will have a special place in my heart for years to come,” said first-year Pinson coach Shane Chappell. “They are a gritty group.”
“Those guys are hard workers and they will always be successful
. Didn’t go out like we wanted to, but I’m very proud of those guys, couldn’t ask for more to be honest,” said Chappell.
Game 1
Smith did not play up to his normal standards in the series opener. Still, South Carolina signee threw six innings for No. 6 Hartselle, allowing one run, and striking out three.
Control issues haunted him early and allowed Pinson to claim an early 1-0 lead in the second. The righty walked four batters and hit another two. Senior Jamison Aldridge closed game one for the Tigers.
Right-hander Colby Wingard threw for the visitors. The senior went five innings. He recorded three strikeouts, one walk and surrendered four runs. Brad Eckmyre threw the final two frames of the opener.
Pinson Valley senior pitcher Colby Wingard makes a pitch against Walker in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs last month.
file photo by Ron Burkett
Down one run in the bottom of the second, the Tigers’ offense came to life and put them up 2-1 going into the third.
Ronald Lamb scored on a Christopher Slayton sacrifice fly into center. A throwing error by Scott Falkinburg allowed Colton Ord to score as well, giving Hartselle the lead for good.
In the fourth, Lamb dropped a double into left-center to plate another run and extend the lead to 3-1.
After sending four batters to the plate in the fifth, the Indians took a big shot in the bottom half of the inning when Aldridge found the bed of a black pickup parked behind the leftfield fence. The solo homer widened the gap to four runs.
The host Tigers took no pity on their visitor’s, plating three more runs in the following inning and putting the game out of reach.
Game 2
Pitchers Baily Chesser and Tillman Landers battled in the second game. Unfortunately, Chasser faced a lineup that was bit more zoned in than the one Landers faced.
Hartselle feasted on the Indian pitching, especially with runners aboard. Clutch plate appearances by the Tigers made all the difference. They went 5-for-5 with runners in scoring position to flash a bright ten on the scoreboard and end the game early.
The Hartselle lineup recorded ten hits in the game, four of them for extra bases. Pinson could manage only two hits, both singles.
Tiger shortstop Brett Blackwood went 3-for-4 with a homerun. Aldridge added two hits of his own.
Despite the lack of pop in their bats, the Indians were able to threaten in the third and fourth innings.
Tyler Evans ended the third with a bases-loaded, two-out laser that was stabbed by second baseman Zane Hamlett. One inning later, Pinson juiced the bases and left them stranded again. Falkinburg, the leadoff batter, flew out to right to kill the threat and save the Tiger’s 3-0 lead.
“That’s one of those things that just kind of takes the life out of you and Tyler hit the ball well, but it just didn’t fall for us today,” said Chappell.
Hartselle made the best of their opportunities in the fifth. The Tigers went on a two-out tear that sent four runs across. They sent nine batters to the plate, jacked the score to 7-0 and obverted the Indian’s focus to next year.
Pinson recorded a 7-for-45 (.156) performance at the plate, while Hartselle went 17-for-49 (.347) in their sweep.
