By Kyle Parmley and Erik Harris
GULF SHORES — Pinson Valley ran off six consecutive wins at the beach to take home the Gulf Coast Classic championship.
In the opener Monday, the Indians defeated Lawrence County 8-3. Pinson Valley scored a single run in the second, fourth and fifth inning. Lawrence County tied the score twice, but a five-run sixth from the Indians put the game out of reach.
Hunter Davidson was lights out, pitching the complete game on the mound and coming up big at the plate. He only allowed two hits and struck out six, while going 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple and an RBI. Destin Davidson drove in a pair of runs and Raul Tafoya knocked one in as well.
Pinson Valley played a pair Tuesday, beating Good Hope and Haleyville by a combined score of 31-0. The Indians scored 12 in the first and cruised to the easy 22-0 win over Good Hope. Hunter Davidson drove in four runs and Baker Hodge knocked in three. Good Hope recorded just one hit in the five-inning contest.
The Indians threw another one-hitter against Haleyville, this one courtesy of senior Brett Jordan, as they won 9-0. Hunter Davidson was 2-for-2 with an RBI and managed to cross home plate four times. Rudd Mauldin had two RBIs and Jody Graves ripped a double and scored a run. Jordan struck out five in his seven innings of work.
Pinson Valley was faced with a much more difficult task to earn a spot in the semifinal round of the tournament, facing off against Westbrook Christian. The Indians got off to a good start with a run in the first inning from an RBI single by Graves. The offense disappeared immediately for both teams.
With the score holding at 1-0 through six innings, Westbrook Christian scraped across the tying run in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly. The Indians only needed one extra frame, scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth. Destin Davidson reached on an infield single and promptly stole second and third. Blake Sisson struck a single to bring home Davidson and give Pinson Valley the 2-1 victory.
Graves got the start on the mound, going the first two innings and giving up a single hit. Blake Mayes pitched the next four frames, allowing five hits and the tying run in the sixth after being replaced by Tafoya, who earned the win by throwing a hitless two innings.
In the semifinals Thursday, the Indians once again matched up with Haleyville, the eighth-ranked team in Class 4A. A much closer contest and an offensive slugfest ensued. Haleyville struck first with four runs in the third. With the score holding at 5-2 after four innings, the Indians scored eight runs over the next two innings to put the game out of reach. Haleyville tacked on a pair in the seventh to make the final tally 10-7.
Hunter Davidson, Graves, Mauldin and Sisson all had two hits each and drove in a run, led by Mauldin’s three RBIs. Shelton Clevenger got the start and Tafoya earned his second win in as many days, hurling 4 1/3 innings and giving up three hits and three runs, all unearned.
The championship game was played later Thursday, and pitted the Indians against Hueytown. The Golden Gophers struck first with a run in the second inning, but that would be the end of their scoring. Pinson Valley scored a run in the second, third and fifth inning to take the 3-1 victory.
Sisson stepped up and led his team to the title, as the usual catcher toed the rubber and pitched five solid innings, only allowing five hits and an unearned run to earn the win. He also went 2-for-3 with a double. Hunter Davidson notched the save by pitching the final two innings. Graves and Mauldin picked up an RBI each for the Indians.
“We played really good as a team this week and winning the tournament gives us confidence and momentum as we play Shades Valley next (Thursday),” said Pinson Valley sophomore Rudd Mauldin.
Senior Gage Farley said the 6-0 record felt good.
“And it felt good to finally turn things around and get some momentum going into the last area series and playoffs,” he said.