1 of 30

The Chelsea Hornets will host the Class 6A baseball semifinals after surviving a wild three-game series with the Calera Eagles that included offensive surges and phenomenal pitching from both sides. (For the Reporter/Robert Dean)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – Fireworks were expected when the Chelsea Hornets and Calera Eagles took the field in the Class 6A Quarterfinals, but not many were expecting what was to come.

After a five-run comeback in game one, a 16-run no-hitter in game two and a game three split across two days due to weather, Chelsea’s 16-0 and 6-4 victories in games two and three on May 1 and 3 at Chelsea High School sealed the 2-1 series win and a home semifinal series.

“It’s just a roller coaster trying to catch a window in which we can get games in with this series,” Chelsea coach Michael Stallings said. “And I was very, very proud of how our guys responded through the delays and just their resilience and determination to still show up, no matter what the situation was, no matter what day, what time, they were just hungry to play, and we’re playing with a lot of confidence today and just super excited for them and how they showed up.”

In game one, Aiden Hughes started the bottom of the first with a single and stole second to get into scoring position for Chase Lackey. While Lackey grounded out, an error at first by Calera led to a Hughes scoring the opening run for the 1-0 lead.

The next two innings didn’t bring any runs as both Hughes and Calera’s Aiden Agee settled into a rhythm on the mound.

Chelsea flipped the script in the bottom of the fourth when Aiden Craven was hit with a pitch ahead of a Paxton Stallings walk. While the next batter struck out to drop the Hornets to two outs, Bryant Wisdom drove a single into left to send Craven home and double up the lead.

Chelsea doubled the lead again on the very next pitch when Logan Carson plated both runners with another line drive to left. While he got out at second to end the inning, it happened after the Hornets took the lead to 4-0.

Hughes struck out three of the four batters he faced in the fifth to get to eight strikeouts, but the Eagles chased him in the top of the sixth. Jaiden Brown hit a lead-off double one pitch before a Mac Graham single, and Ash got his team on the board with an RBI ground out.

Disaster then struck for Chelsea as a groundball to the mound was mishandled along with the throw to first, scoring another run to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Paxton Stallings came in and regained control with four-straight outs, including three strikeouts, to get the Hornets one out away from sealing game one.

However, back-to-back singles from Kegan Johnson and Brown kept Calera alive and forced another pitching change.

Graham then sent a ball into left field and Kegan Johnson beat out the throw to make it a one-run game.

A passed ball put both runners in scoring position, and with the count full, Ash dropped a ball into center field for the tying and go-ahead runs.

Given a chance to respond in the home half of the seventh, Chelsea got the lead-off man Wisdom aboard with a single, but a sacrifice bunt turned into a double play. That set up the final out and the 5-4 Eagles win.

Agee got the win by going the distance with three of the four runs he faced being earned and working around seven hits and three walks.

Brown was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs, Graham finished 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI and Ash had three RBI in a 1-for-4 game.

For Chelsea, Carson was 2-for-2 with two RBI, Wisdom went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run and Hughes finished 2-for-4 with a run.

The Hornets immediately got a chance to respond in game two as three-straight Chelsea batters walked after lead-off ground out in the top of the first.

Craven then stepped up and scored two runs with a single. Paxton Stallings walked ahead of a pitching change, but the Hornets kept scoring. Luke Neill scored two more runs off a single ahead of RBI singles from Wisdom and Hughes, and Lackey took the lead to 7-0 with a run off a sacrifice fly.

Calera started the second inning better with back-to-back outs, but each of the next four batters reached base, including three off walks to score another run. Neill then scored off a wild pitch for the 9-0 lead.

Jackson Price then worked around a second-straight lead-off walk to begin the second and secured three-straight strikeouts to keep his dominant day going.

Lackey kicked off the third inning in wild fashion, breaking his metal bat at the handle on a first-pitch single down to third base. A Cade Mims single and Mack Breazeale walk followed to load up the bases and force another Calera pitching change.

Craven made it a double-digit lead off an RBI single, but he left the bases loaded for Paxton Stallings. That was crucial as he launched a 3-1 pitch to left-center field for a grand slam and a 14-0 lead after three innings.

The Eagles got a two-out base runner in the bottom of the third, but the Hornets quickly recovered to get out of the inning.

From there, Chelsea scored again on a bases-loaded walk in the fourth and a Craven RBI single in the fifth to make it a 16-0 game.

Price then forced three quick outs to seal the run-rule victory and tie up the series.

He finished with nine strikeouts against just two walks and five shutout innings. He was officially credited with a no-hitter, but it hinged on the third-inning base runner that the Eagles scored a single and the Hornets scorer an error.

Chelsea went right to work again in the third and decisive game, using back-to-back singles from Hughes and Lackey to set up a one-out sacrifice fly from Breazeale. Craven followed that up with a two-out RBI single to take the lead to 2-0.

Silas Osbourn worked around a pair of free base runners in the top of the second to preserve the shutout, but when Calera got another two-on spot to start the third, it didn’t miss its chance.

Ash singled to left two batters later, and while he got out on the play, Kegan Johnson and Brown came home to tie the game at 2-2.

The Hornets quickly retook the lead in the bottom of the third, using a one-out Lackey single to set up a Mims RBI single and retake the 3-2 lead.

Breazeale and Craven then loaded up the bases with a single and a hit by pitch, and Stallings made it a two-run lead with a sacrifice fly.

Calera got its first two runners of the fourth aboard and Chase Herring bunted them both into scoring position. However, with two outs in the inning, storms rolled in and forced a stoppage until the next afternoon.

After Chelsea got out of the world’s longest half-inning with a fly out, Wisdom singled to start the home half of the fourth and went to second off a bunt. That led to back-to-back singles from Hughes and Lackey that made it a 6-2 game.

Neither team got any runs across in the fifth or sixth after a Hornets turned a double play to end the fifth and the Eagles overcame a pair of base runners in the sixth to keep the lead within striking distance.

Calera got a window to claw back thanks to a one-out error in the top of the seventh. Paxton Stallings recovered with his second strikeout of the inning, but Graham then launched a two-run home run to cut the gap to 6-4.

The Hornets prevented any additional damage by securing the final out and securing the series win.

After the game three win, coach Stallings complimented his pitchers for powering them through the series, and he said that performances like that are crucial to surviving and advancing in the playoffs.

“We’ve been very fortunate we’ve gotten great performances from our starting pitchers and then the guys that we’ve been bringing in relief behind them have given us a chance, and that’s what it takes at this point in the season,” coach Stallings said. “When you make those pitching changes, you’ve got to have guys that come in and give you a chance to stay in a game, and if you’re behind, get back in a game or whatever the situation might be, but they’ve done a great job and super proud of how they’ve responded.”

Now, he and his ball club can look forward to a date with the Stanhope Elmore Mustangs on Thursday, May 8 at 4:30 and 7 p.m. at Chelsea High School, with game three to take place if needed on May 9 at 4:30 p.m.

He knows it will be a tough test, but he is confident that his players will prepare well for a big game on their home stage.

“They’ve got a really, really good ball program,” coach Stallings said of Stanhope Elmore “I’m excited about the challenge. I think our guys will be excited to play. We will be at home. I think that’s a good feeling, knowing that we get to play a game of that magnitude at our place. So, yeah, we got a week to get ready for that series, and we’ll be ready.”

More Sports

Briarwood makes third-straight Final Four as Leib scores twice to beat Northridge

Indian Springs blitzes unbeaten Elmore County to reach Final Four

Thompson alum Amari Kight signed by Seattle Seahawks as undrafted free agent

Spain Park alum William Mote signs with Birmingham Stallions