Hartselle drops Game 1 of state championship series to Chelsea
OXFORD — The Hartselle Tigers are in familiar territory.
Hartselle dropped Game 1 of the Class 6A state championship baseball series to Chelsea on Wednesday, 1-0 in nine innings. The Tigers are now down 1-0 in the series, a game away from elimination.
The silver lining? The Tigers are used to this.
Hartselle is in its fourth championship series in the last five years, and in two of those years, the Tigers dropped the first game.
Hartselle rallied both times, winning Game 2 and forcing Game 3, including last year after losing Game 1 10-0 to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa.
The players are confident they’ll be able to do the same once again.
“We lost Game 1 last year and came back, and we’ve also had some tough losses this year where we’ve bounced back the next game,” senior pitcher Jace Meadows said. “Knowing what I know about this team, we’ll bounce back.”
It was a true pitcher’s duel in every sense of the phrase Wednesday.
Meadows allowed just seven hits and no runs for Hartselle, while striking out 11 batters. Chelsea’s Aiden Hughes countered with just two hits allowed and 12 strikeouts.
“That was the kind of baseball you expect to see when you get this far,” said Hartselle head coach Brad Phillips. “Both the left-hander for Chelsea and Jace were outstanding. At times it even felt like they were the only two that showed up to play, that’s how good they were.”
The two teams went scoreless all the way to the bottom of the ninth inning when Chelsea loaded the bases with no outs. Hartselle got the first out with a pop fly and then a force out at home plate for the second out. However, the Tigers tried to turn a double play at first base, overthrowing the ball and allowing Chelsea to walk-off the game on an error.
It was a rough day at the plate for the Tigers’ offense, which came in averaging over five runs a game this postseason. Hartselle mustered just two hits, a single from Easton Nelms and a double from Asher Doepel.
Hartselle’s Easton Nelms swings for a hit during the game against Chelsea on Wednesday. Photo by Caleb Suggs.
Phillips gave credit to the Chelsea pitcher, but also said his team’s approach wasn’t what he’s seen all playoffs.
“Hughes did a nice job of keeping us in-between with his pitches,” Phillips said. “I felt like we kept going for the knock-out blow, instead of just jabbing ourselves into a situation where we could put some pressure on him (Hughes).”
Hartselle second baseman Asher Doepel looks to turn a double play during the game against Chelsea on Wednesday. Photo by Caleb Suggs.
Hartselle will play Game 2 of the series Thursday at 10 a.m. with a potential Game 3 to follow immediately after. The game will take place at Rudy Abbott field at Jacksonville State University.
While the Tigers have rallied from a Game 1 loss to win Game 2 twice in the last five seasons, they also lost Game 3 both times. In order to win the school’s 10th state championship, it will take a monumental effort.
Hartselle’s Jace Meadows pitches for the Tigers during Game 1 of the Class 6A state championship series on Wednesday at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Photo by Caleb Suggs.
“Someone told me last night that Game 2 is the most important one, because you’re either finishing it off or surviving,” Phillips said. “When you get to this point with two championship teams, it’s not supposed to be easy, but that’s what makes it fun.”
