Hartselle 13s routs Haleyville in final
The Hartselle Dixie Junior Boys 13 team capped an outstanding run in the District 1 tournament with an 18-4 victory over Haleyville.
Hartselle had 10 hits in the championship and took advantage of five Haleyville errors to finish out the final in five innings.
Hartselle will play in the state tournament at Scottsboro beginning Friday.
Lon Starr finished with three hits in the championship game, including a double and a singles to lead Hartselle.
Benny Brown and Dustin Stephenson added two hits each, while Zac Pershin and Curtis Russell had a single each.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” said Hartselle head coach Denny Pershin. “They’ve worked hard all season and they hit the ball well during the tournament.
“They were just determined to get to state.”
Starr scored in the first inning on a double by Dustin Stephenson to help Hartselle take a 1-0 lead and the Tigers never looked back on the way to a 18-4 win over Haleyville.
Hartselle broke the game open in the top of the second inning with four runs with two hits. After a walk to Caleb Williams and Pershin was hit by a pitch, Starr singled to lead the bases. Brown reached on an error that scored two runs.
Stephenson capped the inning by doubling in two more runs for the 5-0 advantage.
Hartselle posted another four-run inning in the third without a single hit. Williams, Dakota Fowler and Pershin drew walks before two Haleyville errors allowed four runs to score.
Haleyville struck for three runs in the bottom half of the third inning with a homer by Conner Kiser to cut the lead to 9-3.
But Hartselle’s offense answered with four more runs in the fourth with doubles by Russell, Pershin and Starr.
Benny Brown drove in the final run of the inning with a two-out single.
Haleyville scored its final run in the bottom of the fifth inning with the help of a Hartselle error.
Hartselle closed out the win by adding five more runs in the fifth inning with the help of several Haleyville errors.
Kody Kodra reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch. Mason Towers and Brown also had RBIs in the inning.
Hartselle team members are Lon Starr, Benny Brown, Dustin Stephenson, Kody Kodra, Curtis Russell, Tyler Cook, Caleb Williams, Mason Towers, Dakota Fowler, Holden Langston, Casen Wallace, Jake Nelson and Zac Pershin.
The team is coached by Denny Pershin, Wayne Brown and Robin Starr.