By David Knox, Sports Editor
CLAY – After taking a 4-0 win in their first round 6A playoff opener over host Gardendale, the Clay-Chalkville Cougars baseball team had to feel pretty good heading into last Friday’s second game.
But a couple of hours later, the Cougars didn’t feel quite so good after a 16-1 shellacking the Rockets gave them.
But Saturday morning, Chris Tinsley had his team focused again and the Cougars beat the Rockets 6-2 to advance to the second round of the state playoffs.
They will travel to Jasper to play Walker in another best-of-three series. First pitch Friday is at 5 p.m. at Walker’s Valley Park. The second game will follow. A third game, if necessary, would be Saturday at 1 p.m.
In the clinching game Saturday, Dayne Edwards picked up the win, backed by Thomas Johns’ 3-for-3 afternoon with a home run.
Clay-Chalkville, the runner-up to Pinson Valley in Area 12, improved to 19-16. Gardendale fell to 25-12.
The Cougars will need to be as sharp as they were in their two wins over Gardendale to get past Walker. The Vikings (25-13) charged past a good Pinson Valley team 3-1, 9-4.
Round three is next week and the semifinals are May 13-14. The final series is in Montgomery. All classes will stage their championships there May 17-21. The Class 6A championship series will be May 20-21.
Here is the complete schedule for round two of the 6A playoffs.
South Bracket
Chilton County (21-13) at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (32-9), Fri., Apr. 29, 4:30 & 7 p.m. (Sat., 2 p.m., if needed)
Benjamin Russell (23-9) at Opelika (24-11), Fri., Apr. 29, 4:30 & 7 p.m. (Sat., 1 p.m., if needed)
Northridge (23-14) at Hueytown (34-5), Fri., Apr. 29, 4 & 6 p.m. (Sat., 1 p.m., if needed)
Baldwin County (20-14) at Robertsdale (27-11), Fri., Apr. 29, 5 & 7:30 p.m. (Sat., 2 p.m., if needed)
North Bracket
Scottsboro (25-19) at Southside-Gadsden (27-15), Fri., Apr. 29, 5 & 7:30 p.m. (Sat., 2 p.m., if needed)
Clay-Chalkville (19-16) at Walker (25-13), Fri., Apr. 29, 5 & 7:30 p.m. (Sat., 1 p.m., if needed)
Hartselle (33-18) at Cullman (35-9), Fri., Apr. 29, 5 & 7 p.m. (Sat., 2 p.m., if needed)
Homewood (18-12) at Oxford (35-8), Fri., Apr. 29, 4:30 & 7 p.m. (Sat., 1 p.m., if needed)