Hartselle defeats Minor 2-0 for playoff win
Apr. 29—HARTSELLE — Another week, another playoff sweep for the Hartselle Tigers.
A week after dismantling Pinson Valley in two games by a combined 26-1, Hartselle again put together a dominating performance, this time for a two-game sweep (10-0, 10-0) of Minor.
The win vaults the Tigers to the state quarterfinals for the third consecutive season.
"I'm very excited. This is what I play baseball for," said senior Jack Smith.
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Hartselle 10, Minor 0: If the Tigers feared that pitching experience in the playoffs would be an issue, those fears have been quelled.
After losing their top three pitchers from a season ago, Hartselle returned just one pitcher with experience from last year's playoff run and none who started.
Through four playoff games, you wouldn't be able to tell.
A week after Jack Smith threw a perfect game, Jace Meadows nearly repeated the feat. In a six-inning contest, Meadows allowed just one walk and one hit, both of which came in the final inning. He also struck out six batters.
"It felt great. I've been preparing for this," Meadows said of his first start. "I was blowing it by them and then mixing up the change-up. It really got their timing off."
The Hartselle offense again took some time to get going, but once it did, the game got out of hand got Minor in a hurry.
After scoring two runs through the first three innings, the Tigers exploded for seven in the fourth and fifth innings.
"Consistently making hard contact. That's all you can control, and that's what we try to do each at bat," said senior Coleman Mizell. "We know if we make that contact that good things will happen."
"We have a bunch of hitters that can do a lot of different things, so we know that the more times through the lineup we go, eventually things will open up," Mizell added.
Mizell finished the game with a double and two RBIs. Greyson Howard led the team with three hits and two RBIs, while Cade Miles added three hits.
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Hartselle 10, Minor 0: A week after throwing a perfect game, Jack Smith tossed a no-hitter in five innings against Minor.
A lone walk in the fifth inning was the only blemish as Smith made quick work of the Purple Tigers.
"I was glad that we were able to just do what we were supposed to do. We played our game," said Smith, who finished with 13 strikeouts.
Peyton Steele led Hartselle with two hits and three RBIs, including a two-run home run. Cam Palahach finished with two hits and an RBI.
Hartselle, the No. 2 ranked team in Class 6A, is now set to host No. 1 Oxford next week in the state quarterfinals.
"Obviously, Oxford is an amazing team. They have great coaches and great players all over the field," said Smith. "But we try to treat every team the same. If we worry about us, we're going to play good baseball."
