Hartselle, McAdory split series openers

Todd ThompsonHartselle Enquirer MCCALLA – McAdory hit 10 homers in Friday’s doubleheader with Hartselle in the Class 5A quarterfinals but came away with nothing more than a split that sent the series to a deciding game a day later.The Yellow Jackets hit three homers in the bottom of the seventh inning but still came up short in the opening game of the playoffs series.Hartselle had taken a 14-6 lead in the top of the seventh inning with a two -run homer by Ryan Joy and a solo blast by Logan Cain.During a stretch of nine batters in the seventh inning, Hartselle and McAdory hit five homers at the stadium that featured a short fence.Hartselle took control of the game early with five runs in the top half of the first inning with the help of three walks.Drew Cowan doubled down the third baseline to score a pair of runs, while Dax Gillespie hit an RBI double.  Kyle Smith and Logan Tissier hit back-to-back solo homers in the bottom half of the inning for McAdory.Hartselle stretched the lead to 7-2 with a pair of runs in the third inning. Jackson Reeves led off with a walk and scored when Andrew Hampton hit a one-out double.Gillespie drove in Hampton with his second double of the game.Hartselle scored three runs in the fifth inning with four hits. Hampton led off with a single and pinch runner Hayden Dye scored on a single by Mac Hendrix.Joy doubled in a run and Cain had an RBI triple to give the Tigers a 10-3 advantage.McAdory’s Phillip Davis hit a two-run homer in the fifth to trim the Hartselle lead to 10-6.The Yellow Jackets had three hits in the inning.Reeves, Joy and Cain added homers for the Tigers to build the eight-run lead.Hartselle starter Tres Austin ended the game with a strikeout in the bottom of the seventh.  McAdory 13, Hartselle 3McAdory used a five-run first inning to beat Hartselle 13-3 in six innings to force the third game.Hartselle, the defending Class 5A state champions, never seemed to get its offense clicking in the loss.Hartselle scored twice in the bottom of the second inning with the help of two McAdory errors.Cowan led off with a double for the Tigers and scored on an error. Andrew Hampton also scored on an error as the Tigers cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 6-2.Robby Reece hit a solo homer in the third inning to get the Tigers back to within three runs.But Hartselle would get no closer.McAdory had four hits in the top of the fourth inning to extend its lead to 10-3.Ryne Sanders, Justin Patterson and Kyle Smith singled to set up Logan Tissier’s 3-run homer.McAdory added two more runs in the fifth inning with three singles before Hartselle reliever Jackson Smith ended the threat.The Yellow Jackets scored the game-winning run in the top of the fifth inning to wrap up the split in the two-game set.