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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

SARALAND – The Chelsea Hornets found themselves in a tough road test on Friday, April 25 when they faced the Saraland Spartans in a clash of two of the top teams in Class 6A.

The series lived up to the billing and proved to be a duel of starting pitchers. In the end, Chelsea’s proved the more durable duo as Aiden Hughes and Jackson Price helped the Hornets win game one 2-1 and game two 1-0 at Saraland High School in the second round of the playoffs.

The Hornets found themselves in an early 1-0 hole in the bottom of the first. After a bunt single and a walk put two on with one out, Chelsea recovered with its first strikeout of the game, but a pair of wild pitches plated the opening run for Saraland.

However, that mistake proved to be the only run that the Spartans would score in either game of the series.

Aiden Hughes settled in from there, striking out seven batters over the course of the seven-inning start. He surrendered just three hits and two walks, and two of those five baserunners came in the first.

That performance was crucial as the Hornets couldn’t get on the board until the top of the third.

Eighth-grader Bryant Wisdom drew a one-out walk in the inning and would steal second two batters later. Hughes was at the plate during that time, and he sent a ground-ball single to left shortly after, overcoming a two-strike hole to tie up the game at 1-1 by scoring Wisdom.

Hughes struck out two batters in a one-two-three third but had to work around a single and a hit by pitch with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. He secured the third out with a ground out to preserve the tie.

After another one-two-three bottom of the fifth, Hughes walked with one out in the top of the sixth and reached second on a Chase Lackey sacrifice bunt. Cade Mims then doubled to left to bring Hughes home for Chelsea’s first lead of the game.

That lead held through the end of the game as the Hornets kept the Spartans scoreless for the final two innings to seal the 2-1 win.

The second game saw even less offense between the two teams.

The first inning saw Chelsea unable to score off a two-out double, but it didn’t miss that chance twice in the second inning. Paxton Stallings took a 2-1 pitch for a one-out double, setting up the Hornets with a runner in scoring position.

A pop out dropped the Hornets to two outs, but Wisdom made a big play to come up as the hero. The eighth-grader bounced back from an 0-2 hole to double to left, scoring Stallings from second and taking the 1-0 lead.

From there, Price took control on the mound, securing the complete-game shutout with eight strikeouts while allowing just two hits and one walk. While he had to work around base runners in the third and fourth, he helped pick off a runner at first in the fourth to dispatch the final runner of the game.

Price would dismiss the final nine Saraland batters of the game to finish off the 1-0 win and book a spot in the quarterfinals.

That quarterfinal series will be at home at Chelsea High School against a county foe in the Calera Eagles on Friday, May 2. Times will be announced in the coming days.