Baseball’s ins and outs – County teams dive, thrive in playoffs
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Four Shelby County baseball teams fell in the first two rounds of the AHSAA state playoffs last week, but two managed to survive, earning berths in the Class 6A quarterfinals.
Pelham and Oak Mountain both advanced with wins during Saturday’s second round.
Calera and Chelsea, however, weren’t able to get past their second round opponents while Thompson and Briarwood Christian were both defeated in first-round action last week.
The Panthers and Eagles will each now play a best-of-three series for a chance to earn an appearance in the semifinals.
Pelham High School
The Panthers made quick work of Grissom to open the 6A playoffs, jumping on top early and hanging on for a 13-2 win.
Senior Shawn Sheehan went seven innings for the win striking out four while allowing one hit, one walk and one earned run. Sheehan also pitched in the Panthers’ 6-1 win against Tuscaloosa County on Saturday. He faced 13 batters in four innings of work, allowing one hit, one earned run and striking out five. Pelham will start a best-of-three series with Hueytown with a doubleheader Friday at 4 p.m. at Hueytown.
Oak Mountain High School
Oak Mountain defeated Austin 3-1 to in the first round of the playoffs last Thursday. The Eagles then knocked off Mountain Brook 5-4 in Saturday’s second round game. Oak Mountain will play Clay-Chalkville in a best-of-three series this weekend in the quarterfinals.
Calera High School
Calera beat Bayside Academy 8-5 in the first round before falling to Red Level, 7-5 in the second round. Jake Garzarek went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base for Calera. Dusty Downs pitched six innings and struck out nine batters while giving up seven runs in the loss.
Chelsea High School
Chelsea came back from a 3-0 deficit in the seventh to beat Boaz in nine innings in the first round. The Hornets then dropped their second round game with Hokes Bluff, 4-3. Andrew Lafferty went 2-for-5 with a single, a double and a game-winning RBI for Chelsea in the Boaz game.
Briarwood Christian School
The Lions fell to Fairhope 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs, getting just four hits in the shutout.Shortstop Joe Craddock went 2-for-2 in the loss while Jimbo Crew pitched all seven innings, giving up six hits and striking out 11.
Thompson High School
The Warriors comeback efforts fell short in their opening round loss to Robertsdale last Thursday, 9-8. Malachi Gandy went 3-for-5, scoring two runs with 3 RBIs for and Robert Schofield was 3-for-4 with
three RBIs