Area champions

By Staff
Tigers whip Cullman to take title
Charles Prince, Hartselle Enquirer
CULLMAN – Big time plays win big time games and the Hartselle Tigers made all the big plays to wrap up the 5A-Area 15 title with a victory over Cullman. The win assures the Tigers home field advantage in the first round of the sub-state playoffs.
Hartselle coach William Booth called the win the biggest of the year.
"We needed some luck today," Booth said. "Cullman is the best team we've played all year."
The biggest play of the game turned out to be a defensive gem turned in by right fielder David Cameron and catcher Brian Ellis. With the scored tied at 1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Bearcats had two runners on with two outs. Cullman's Whit Ford then laced a single to right field where Cameron caught the ball on one hop and fired to home plate.
Ellis caught the throw and tagged out the Cullman runner who was trying to score. The play keep ended the inning and the Tigers would score three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take home the area title.
Hartselle 4, Cullman 1
Brandon Wallace threw four innings allowing only one hit one run and struck out three but left with the score tied and did not get the decision.
Heath Tapscott pitched three innings of relief allowing two hits, walking one and striking out one as he picked up the crucial win and improved to 4-0 this year.
Hunter Brasher had one hit and scored once while Craig Womack had one hit and two RBIs. Ja'Cote Ward and Chris Wiley, Logan Whitlow and Chris Kohlenberg had one hit each. Kohlenberg's hit was a double. Craig Ellis had one hit and one RBI.
Hartselle 8, Cullman 7
In the nightcap of the doubleheader the Tigers scored two runs in the top of the seventh to complete the sweep.
Zack Andrews improved to 10-3 with six-hit five-strikeout complete game performance.
Chris Wiley had one hit one RBI and scored twice to lead the offense. Seth Watson was 2-for-2 with a RBI double. Logan Whitlow was 1-for-1 with a RBI while Brain Ellis had one hit and drove in two. Craig Womack went 2-for-3 while Ja'Cote Ward and David Cameron had doubles.
Huntsville 8, Hartselle 7
Andrew Reeves threw 6 1/3 innings allowing five runs but did not take the loss. Reliever Zack Smith threw 1/3 of an inning and allowed a game
winning home run to take the loss.
The Tigers lead 7-2 going into the bottom of the seventh when Huntsville rallied for the win.
Chris Kohlenberg went 3-for-3 with two runs while Logan Whitlow was 2-for-3 with a two-RBI double.
David Cameron had two hits, scored twice and had one RBI. Hunter Brasher had one hit and one RBI while Ja'Cote Ward had one hit and scored once.
Hartselle 13, Huntsville 2
Seth Watson squared his record at 2-2 with a five inning three-strikeout performance.
Hunter Brasher was 2-for-4 with two runs and a double. Craig Womack had two hits including a RBI double and scored three times.
Ja'Cote Ward and Chris Wiley each had one hit, scored once and drove in one run. Logan Whitlow, Zack Smith and Chris Kohlenberg had one hit and two RBIs each.
Brian Ellis had a RBI double.
The Tigers improved to 29-14 on the season.
The Tigers closed out the regular season with a doubleheader Friday against Mountain Brook.
Mountain Brook took the opener 5-4.
The Tigers bounced back in the nightcap for a 2-1 win.
On Saturday the Hoover whipped Hartselle 4-1.
Hartselle ended the regular season with a 30-16 overall record.
The score of Hartselle Wednesday night sub-state playoff game was unavailable at press time.