Hartselle rallies to win 8th state championship
Hartselle poses with the state championship trophy after defeating Spanish Fort 3-2 Saturday at Montgomery’s Riverwalk Stadium. | Brent Maze
MONTGOMERY – Hartselle head coach William Booth calls Brett Blackwood “The Money Man.”
Blackwood owns the AHSAA record for hits and the school record RBIs in a season. So when Deacon Aldridge got on base with one-out error in the top of the seventh inning, there was no decision to let Easton Chenault bunt him over to second to set up Blackwood.
Even with an 0-2 count, Blackwood still delivered.
The Class 5A Finals MVP put his bat out with a defensive swing and then the ball found a gap in the infield, giving Hartselle a 3-2 win in Game 2 of the Class 5A Championship Series and its eighth state championship.
Brady Wallace (3-2) was the unlikely winner of the final game of Hartselle’s season. He made his first appearance in a game since April 9 against Cullman and looked sharp.
He scattered two hits and three walks while striking out four through four scoreless innings.
After the Tigers took the lead in the top of the seventh, Colton Ord finished the deal, pitching around a leadoff error to get his only save of the season. He ended the game with a strikeout.
Starter Tillman Landers struggled early, allowing two earned runs on three hits and two walks. He got into trouble with a leadoff single and a walk in the second inning.
Matt Hall scored the first run with a sacrifice fly. Jesse McCord followed it up with an RBI single. But Landers stranded two runners by forcing a groundout for the final out of the stanza.
Wallace took over in the third inning and settled the Toros hitting down. He got in trouble in the fifth inning, loading the bases on two walks (one intentional) and a single. He cleaned it up by getting Tyler Trammell to ground out to second baseman Zane Hamlett.
Hartselle finally got its offense going in the fifth. Blackwood drew a leadoff walk and then moved to third base on Chris Brown’s single.
McCord of the Toros threw a wild pitch, which allowed Blackwood to take home. Blake Slayton drove an 0-2 through the infield to tie the game at 2-2.
Then, Hartselle set up Blackwood for the game winning run.
The Tigers finished the season with a 44-15 record. Booth also recorded his eighth championship as a coach and improved to 907-345 in his career.
