Tigers start strong
Hartselle’s baseball team won a pair of games to open the Hoover Tournament on Monday to stay in the hunt for the tournament championship.
Both games saw Hartselle (13-9) have to rally in late innings to come from behind or to break a tie game.
Blake Slayton hit a 2-run single with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning to give Hartselle a 9-8 win over Hillcrest. He finished 2-for-4.
Austin Spangler went 3-for-4 with three runs while Will Swann, J.W. Jenkins, Dax Gillespie and Blake Slayton were all 2-for-4 with at least one RBI. Todd Gibson went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs.
Griffen Steelman earned the win in 2 2/3 innings of work. He allowed three hits and two runs. Aaron Wooley only allowed one hit in the seventh inning to get the save. Colton Ord went 3 1/3 innings allowing six runs on seven hits.
Hartselle scored two runs in the eighth inning to earn a 9-7 win over Oak Mountain.
Brett Blackwood was 4-for-5 with an RBI in the win while Chris Brown was 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Gillespie went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Kaleb Jones finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Deacon Aldridge allowed five earned runs on nine hits in five innings. Tillman Landers allowed just one hit in the final three innigs for the win.
Oxford 10, HHS 8
Three late-inning errors allowed the Yellow Jackets to break the tie and win the game Saturday.
Brown finished 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs while Blackwood’s only hit was a 3-run home run. Swann was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Colby Nelson went five innings, allowing 11 hits with four strikeouts. Sam Harris was solid in relief allowing four hits and two unearned runs with two strikeouts.
HHS 10, Sparkman 4
The Tigers racked up 17 hits in an easy win over Sparkman Saturday afternoon. Aldridge, Ord, Blackwood, Brown, Jenkins, Swann, Zane Hamlett and Easton Chenault all had two hits and either scored a run, had an RBI or both. Brown led the way with three runs scored and 2 RBIs while Swann had 3 RBIs.
Gibson earned the win in five innings of work. He allowed seven hits and four walks with a pair of strikeouts. Steelman allowed just three hits and a walk in relief with one strikeout.
HHS 15, MA 5
Blackwood led the way against Madison Academy with a 5-for-5 outing. He had three runs scored and an RBI.
Kaleb Jones was 3-for-4 with a run and three RBIs while Swann was 3-for-3 with two runs scored.
Hamlett finished 2-for-3 with a run while Spangler had a hit with two RBIs.
Ord allowed five runs on three hits with three strikeouts in two innings of work. Landers finished up the last four innings without allowing a hit, walk or run while striking out three.