Tigers manhandle East Limestone

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
CAPSHAW - The formula has become familiar for the Hartselle Tigers this season: dominating pitching, timely hitting and a pair of wins.
Hartselle swept East Limestone Friday in a second-round Class 5A state playoff series with a pair of four-hitters from Luke Bole and Chad Girodo to set up a matchup with Southside-Gadsden, a team that has beaten the Tigers twice this season.
The quarterfinal series will open Friday at Rueben Sims Field with a 5 p.m. doubleheader. A third and deciding game will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday if necessary.
With 10-3 and 13-3 wins over the Indians on the road, the Tigers improved to 42-8 overall, just one win shy of the school record for wins in a season set by the 1998 team.
Hartselle’s 10-run outburst in the first game was more than enough for Bole, who struck out nine in the game.
Solid pitching and timely hitting has been a potent combination for Hartselle for much of the season. The Tigers have now won 31 of their last 34 games to come within six wins of the program’s seventh state championship.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the first game with two runs in the top of the second inning following singles by Robby Reese and Josh Doyle. Garrett Turrentine drove in the game’s first run with a grounder to third. Doyle later scored on an East Limestone error.
Hartselle loaded the bases in the third inning after singles by Joy and Bole, but managed just one run when Taylor Nelson had an RBI walk for the 3-0 lead.
The Tigers’ big inning came in the fifth when they posted five more runs with four hits. David Reeves’ 2-run single was the big blow in the inning that also featured a double by Walton Ashwander and an RBI single by Ryan Joy.
Nelson added a single in the fifth, while Garrett Turrentine drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-0.
East Limestone cut into the lead when Jared Laxson, Bole’s second cousin, managed to get his bat out across the plate and the ball carried over the fence to trim the Indians’ deficit to 8-2.
They never seriously threatened again as Bole shook off the homer by answering with his own shot off the scoreboard in the sixth inning.
Nelson added a single in the sixth and scored with Reeves’ single.
Hartselle added three more runs in the top of the seventh with the help of singles by Joy and Doyle. Zack Waddell hit a ball into the gap for an RBI triple to score the Tigers’ first run. Bole had a sacrifice fly and Doyle’s hit scored a third run.
Bole struck out the final five hitters he faced to seal the victory.
Girodo picked right up where Bole left off with another stellar outing on the mound. He finished with six strikeouts while keeping East Limestone hitters in check.
Joy’s solo homer in the first inning of the second game gave the Tigers all the breathing room they would need to wrap up the sweep.
David Reeves scored on a passed ball and Ashwander, who singled in the inning, came home on a sacrifice bunt by Nick Howard.
Bole’s 17th homer came in the third when he drove a monster shot over the right field fence that traveled more than 400 feet.
Howard walked with the bases loaded to cap the inning.
Hartselle added another run in the fifth with a single by Joy.
The Tigers tacked on five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game by mercy rule. Reeves, Howard, Waddell and Bole all drove in runs in the inning.