Chelsea walks off in ninth off Hartselle error to go up 1-0 in state championship as Hughes strikes out 12
Published 10:40 pm Wednesday, May 14, 2025
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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
OXFORD – As game one of the Class 6A state baseball championship extended on, it was clear something had to give between the Chelsea Hornets and Hartselle Tigers.
In the end, that something didn’t come from Chelsea as it benefitted from an errant throw in the bottom of the ninth to score the lone run of the game, taking a 1-0 win on Wednesday, May 14 at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park to take an identical 1-0 lead in the series.
The win gives the Hornets a chance to clinch with just one victory on Thursday, May 15 against Hartselle. Game two will start at 10 a.m. at Jacksonville State University with game three to follow immediately after should the Tigers equalize.
“We knew it was going to be a dog fight with a caliber of pitcher like (Jace) Meadows,” Chelsea coach Michael Stallings said. “You’ve got to weather the storm and your guy has to give you a chance and keep you in it. And Aiden did that for us today.”
Both teams engaged in a true pitchers’ duel through the first few innings as Aiden Hughes dueled with Hartselle’s Jace Meadows.
The Tigers got a one-out double in the top of the first, but Hughes shut them down and didn’t allow another hit until the top of the seventh inning.
On the other side, Chelsea regularly tagged Meadows for hits but couldn’t capitalize, often striking out instead. The Hornets got two in scoring position in the bottom of the second before Meadows got the Hornets looking to strand the runners.
Two more singles came across from Hughes and Mack Breazeale in the bottom of the third, but a ground out left the runners stranded.
In a bizarre sequence in the top of the fourth, back-to-back Hartselle runners reached base off dropped third strikes with two outs. However, a fly out shortly after finished off the inning for Hughes without any damage.
That proved to be the last time either team got multiple base runners in an inning through the first seven frames as Meadows worked a one-two-three bottom of the seventh to send the game to extras tied 0-0.
The Tigers threatened in the top of the eighth with a two-out double, but Hughes forced a line out to right two pitches later to get out unscathed.
The Hornets went down in order in the eighth, but they returned the favor to Hartselle in the top of the ninth. Hughes got his 12th strikeout of the game to start the inning before getting a pair of fly outs to center fielder Aiden Craven to send his team to the bottom of the ninth with a chance to win.
Chelsea immediately loaded up the bases after Craven got hit by a pitch, Paxton Stallings hit a single and Luke Neill drew a walk after a pitching change. The next batter flew out to right and froze the runners with no chance for a sacrifice run.
That brought up Jaxson Dohrman with one out, and on an 1-0 pitch, he sent a chopper to short. The shortstop gunned down the lead runner Craven at home, but the Hartselle catcher immediately turned and threw to first to try and get the double play.
However, the throw rocketed down the first base line and allowed Paxton Stallings to come home for the walk-off win.
Hughes finished the game with nine shutout innings, giving up just two hits and a walk against 12 strikeouts in the complete-game win.
Hughes never lost faith in his team even as the game went on and the bats were still cold, knowing that they would come through in time if he just continued to dominate on the mound.
“I think it was just showing up for my teammates, my brothers,” Hughes said. “I knew they had my back even when we weren’t scoring, I knew they were going to get it done if I just kept showing up for them.”
Coach Stallings credited Meadows, who also finished with 12 strikeouts in eight innings, for frustrating hitters with his variety and breaking balls. However, he is thankful that his players came through and overcame the adversity to put them in a position to win a state title.
“We had opportunities, several innings, we had guys in scoring position, and just couldn’t get it done,” coach Stallings said. “It was early, we couldn’t get bunts down, and that’s credit to their guy, man. He’s elevating fastballs, and he’s mixing in and out and locating his off-speed and I just felt like we lost some opportunities out early, but we were able to weather the storm and capitalize there at the end. Just very grateful.”
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