By Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
This weekend will be like Christmas Day for baseball fans, as several different local teams will be playing at home in high stakes state playoff games. The local teams all advanced to their class quarterfinals, one of only eight teams remaining in their classification, following dramatic victories in the 2nd round.
Class 3A
Prattville Christian Academy started things off with a sweep of Wicksburg High School on Friday night. The Class 3A #1 Panthers won Game 1 easily 11-1. PCA’s Blake Bowman, who pitched a perfect game against Childersburg in the 1st round, followed it up with a complete game in the 2nd round, striking out 12 batters and allowing only one earned run.
Gavin Oates went 4-4 at the plate for the Panthers with 2 RBIs.
“Game one was tight to start off with, but we made adjustments at the plate and started to hit the ball,” said PCA Coach Tommy Goodson. “They made a few mistakes, and we quickly took advantage of them.”
The second game was much more dramatic and featured an impressive pitchers dual between PCA’s Ethan Walls and Wicksburg ace Drew Colon, both of which will be teammates next season at Chipola Junior College.
Down to the last out in the bottom of the 7th inning and trailing 3-2, PCA’s Conner Williams had a single that drove in the tying run, sending the game to extra innings.
In the top of the 8th, Jack Diefenderfer struck out three batters. In the bottom of the 8th, Diefenderfer hit a 2-run, walk-off homerun to send the Panthers to the 3rd Round for the 3rd straight year.
“We have been here the last two years, and the guys are really focused on moving to the next week’s play. It would be special to do it at home,” said Coach Goodson.
PCA will host Lee-Scott Academy in a doubleheader in the Class 3A quarterfinals on Thursday, with a third game Friday if necessary.
Class 5A
The Marbury Bulldogs advanced to the 3rd round of the Class 5A playoffs after sweeping Faith Academy, 7-0 and 5-4.
In Game 1, Seth Turner pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, and Jacob Driver and Carson Mills both had two RBIs as the Bulldogs won easily, 7-0.
Again, Game 2 was much more dramatic.
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the 6th, the Bulldogs tied the game behind a 3-run home run from Driver.
The game went all the way to the 10th inning, when Benton Howell led off with a single and later scored the game winning, and series winning, run behind a hit from Alexander Hamby.
Marbury will host Elberta in a doubleheader in the Class 5A quarterfinals on Friday, with a third game Saturday if necessary.
Class 6A
The Stanhope Elmore Mustangs defeated Helena 3-2 in Game 1 of their 2nd round matchup. Trailing 2-0 in the top of the 7th, the Mustangs roared back and scored three runs to take the lead. Mac Boswell had a double to bring in the go-ahead run with two outs.
SEHS ace Tyler Woodham didn’t allow a hit in the bottom of the 7th. He pitched all seven innings and only allowed one earned run.
Helena decisively won Game 2, setting up a winner take all Game 3 that was played on Monday afternoon. The Huskies led 3-2 after four innings, when the Mustangs scored two runs. Hayden Anderson had two RBIs for the Mustangs. Bryson Wright and Jackson Stallworth both pitched three innings.
In the bottom of the 7th, the Huskies got two runners on with no outs when Luke Payne came in to pitch. In a dominant performance, the senior struck out all three batters he faced, sealing the series win for the Mustangs.
“I’m just really proud of our guys’ effort,” said Mustangs Coach Kaleb Shuman. “We had our backs against the wall and our guys didn’t flinch. It was a great team effort all the way around. We’re looking forward to getting another chance to play at home again and to get a chance at a rematch of the 2023 semi-finals against Spanish Fort.”
The Mustangs will face Spanish Fort in a doubleheader in the Class 6A quarterfinals on Friday, with a third game Saturday if necessary.
