By Staff
Staff Reports, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle 19
Albertville 5
The young Tigers' bats came to life Saturday in Cullman in a slugfest win over the Aggies.
Will Rankin improved to 8-3 as he picked up the win on the mound for Hartselle. Rankin worked three innings, striking out five and allowing three hits.
Offensively for Hartselle, Justin Hargett was 2-for-2 at the plate and had three RBIs and scored three runs.
Keith McCaghren had two RBIs and a run on 2-for-3 hitting.
Josh Aycox, Jake Bradford, Jordan Garrison, Jordan Parker and Tyler Young each had a single. Aycox also scored four runs.
Bradford scored two runs and both Garrison and Young had an RBI.
With the win, Hartselle improved to 19-11 this season.
Hartselle 9, 9
Muscle Shoals 5, 7
The Tigers played an exciting doubleheader on the road March 28, coming back from large deficits in both games.
In game one, Hartselle trailed 5-0 after one inning, but slowly crept back into the game. In the third inning, the Tigers scored two runs to cut the deficit to three and in the fifth inning McCaghren hit a three-run home run to tie the game.
In the seventh inning, Muscle Shoals walked Hargett and Parker reached on an error. Joe McClanahan followed with a double that scored both runs, and moved to third base on McCaghren's single. With runners on the corners, Jake Bradford hit a sacrifice fly to score McClanahan and Aycox followed with a groundball out that scored McCaghren.
McCaghren pitched the entire game, bouncing back from a shaky first inning to record a nine-hit, three-strikeout performance.
McClanahan had four RBIs total in the win and McCaghren batted in three runs.
In game two, Hartselle trailed 7-1 after two innings as Muscle Shoals chased starter Will Rankin.
Rankin was replaced by J.C. Bates, who pitched the final five innings, allowing no runs, four hits and striking out seven.
Jake Bradford's two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning proved to be the game-winning hit.
Hargett finished the game 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Parker and McClanahan both had one RBI.
Luke Bole, who started in left field for the Tigers, hit a solo home run.