Alabama Daily Roundup: February 20th

Hoover, AL - Hoover High School was one of the places to be on Saturday if you wanted to watch some big-time baseball. 7A No. 1 Hoover hosted 7A No. 6 Sparkman in what turned out to be a fantastic game that was decided with two outs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Hoover gave the ball to RHP Brewer Smith (No. 37, 2023) to get things going, while Sparkman countered with their ace on the mound in Jacksonville State signee & RHP AJ Causey (No. 23, 2021).

After a scoreless top half of the first for the Senators, the Bucs quickly got on the board in the bottom half. After SS/UTL RJ Hamilton (No. 4, 2023) was hit-by-pitch to start the frame and advanced to 2nd base on a passed ball, Samford recruit 1B/C Lucas Steele (No. 14, 2022) hit a RBI infield single between the first baseman and second baseman that he was able to beat the pitcher to the bag to give Hoover an early 1-0 lead heading to the 2nd inning.

During the third inning, the Senators answered back with a run of their own to tie things back up at 1-1. SS Tucker Burns (No. 53, 2022) jumped all over an elevated fastball to lead the inning off and deposited it over the left field wall for a solo shot. Burns played an excellent shortstop defensively, as he always has for Sparkman. Burns came back up to the plate in the 4th inning with a man on 3rd base and one out, and recorded another RBI on a groundout to 2nd base. This game the Senators a 2-1 lead after 4 ½ innings. Other than the home run against Burns, RHP Brewer Smith (No. 37, 2023) struck out four hitters and did a good job working his way through three innings.

The Bucs fought back in the bottom of the fourth to tie things back up again. After loading the bases on two walks and a hit-by-pitch, C Ty Truett (No. 101, 2021) laid off some tough two strikes pitches against Causey to bring home a run and bring the score to 2-2.

Sparkman quickly answered back again in the top of the fifth. After loading the bases with zero outs on Southeast Missouri State signee CF Jakob Lewis (No. 111, 2021) leadoff single and two walks, 3B Ryan Strachan (No. 16, 2023) grounded out into a fielders’ choice to the shortstop, allowing Lewis to come home and score and regain the Senator lead at 3-2. RHP AJ Causey (No. 23, 2021) was forced to labor a bit, but did an excellent job keeping his team in the game in his five innings of work. 

Hoover continued to show resiliency throughout the game, as they broke the scoring open in the bottom of the fifth. Vanderbilt recruit & SS/UTL RJ Hamilton (No. 4, 2023) got the inning going at the top of the order, battling with two strikes and singling to left field. After advancing to 2nd base, Samford recruit & 1B/C Lucas Steele (No. 14, 2022) came through in the clutch again, as he ripped a breaking ball over the plate and served it into right field for a RBI single to tie it back up at 3-3. After an error and intentional walk that loaded the bases, Alabama recruit & 3B/RHP Walter Ford (No. 1, 2023) had one of the biggest swings of the game, as he drove a ball over the right fielder’s head for a two RBI double. This extended the Buccaneer lead to 5-3 heading to the sixth inning.

Just like previous innings, the Senators showed the ability to fight back from a deficit. Sparkman scored two in the top half, one on a RBI single from SS Tucker Burns (No. 53, 2022) and another one a RBI sacrifice fly to center field from 2B Kylan Duncan (2021). This tied things back up, once again, at 5-5.

Both teams traded zeros back & forth for the next four frames, until Hoover was finally able to push across the deciding run in the bottom of the 8th. Hitting from the 8-spot in the lineup, C Ty Truett (No. 101, 2021) ignited a two out rally with a single to right field. That set the stage for OF Hess Fridley (No. 178, 2022), who ripped a full count fastball down the right field line to score Truett from 2nd base and give the Bucs a 6-5 lead in 8 innings. RHP Walter Ford got the win on the mound, tossing two scoreless frames in the 7th & 8th while striking out four.

Top Performers - Hoover

1B Lucas Steele - 2-3, 2 1B’s, 2 RBI’s, 2 R’s

SS RJ Hamilton - 1-3, 2 R’s, 2 SB’s

3B/RHP Walter Ford - 2B, 2 RBI’s / W, 2 IP, 0 H’s, 0 R’s, 1 BB, 4 K’s

OF Hess Fridley - RBI 1B (walk-off)

Top Performers - Sparkman

SS Tucker Burns - 2-3, HR, 3 RBI’s, R

CF Jakob Lewis - 1B, R, 2 BB’s, SB

OF Jack Buening - 2B, R

Auburn, AL - On Saturday, February 20th, the 5A No. 7 West Point Warriors traveled south to take on the 7A No. 2 Auburn Tigers. RHP Brady Fuller (No. 38, 2021) started on the mound for Auburn and the Southern Union CC signee was spectacular. The Warriors countered with RHP Eli Folds and the junior more than held his own versus a potent Tiger lineup. Fuller was credited with the win after working 3 1/3 innings and only giving up one hit. The senior right-hander did not allow a run while striking out five and did not issue a walk. Folds took the loss after working four innings. He allowed six hits and six earned runs and struck out three and walked three.

The first two innings saw both teams remain scoreless as both starting pitchers were extremely sharp. Auburn erupted for four runs in the bottom of the third inning, as South Alabama signee & OF Will Turner (No. 24, 2021) started things off with solo home run down the right field line. The Warriors were close to keeping the Tigers at one run but with two outs and two on base, C/OF Walker Zapp (No. 23, 2022) popped up on the infield and the ball was lost in the sun and both runners came around to score to put Auburn up 3-0. 3B Todd Clay (No. 77, 2022) then singled up the middle to score Zapp from 2nd base and push the lead to 4-0.

Auburn tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the 4th inning as Turner once again came through, this time with an RBI double to score OF Judson Waters (No. 114, 2021) (who reached earlier on a fielders choice). After Turner stole 3B, SS Webb Veronese (No. 67, 2021) grounded out to drive in Turner to make the score 6-0.

The Warriors would not go quietly though as they pushed across a single run in the top half of the 5th. Chase Sibley and Kannan Sutter both singled to start the inning and Sibley scored on a fielders choice later in the inning. The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the 6th inning with one out but RHP Aubry Cleghorn (No. 129, 2021) got out of the jam with a strikeout and groundout. The Warriors did not go quietly in the 7th as Brody Freeman started the inning with a single and Caiden Rodgers reached on an error. With one out Folds grounded into a fielders choice which allowed Freeman to come around to score for the final 6-2 margin. 

Top Performers - Auburn

RHP/DH Brady Fuller - 3 1/3 IP, 1 hit allowed, 0 runs, 5 Ks, 0 BBs; 1-4

LHP Caleb Sanders - 1 2/3 IP, 3 hits allowed, 1 ER, 3 Ks, 0 BBs

RHP Evan Pope – 2 IP, 2 hits allowed, 1 run (unearned), 3 Ks, 0 BBs

CF Will Turner – 2-3, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 1 BB, 1 SB, 2 runs scored

OF Walker Zapp – 2-3, 1 2B, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored

Top Performers- West Point

DH/RHP Aubry Cleghorn – 1-4; 2 IP, 2 hits allowed, 0 runs, 2 Ks, 2 BBs

LF Brody Freeman – 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 runs scored

RF Caiden Rodgers – 2-3

6A No. 6 Faith Academy (2) vs. 5A No. 1 UMS-Wright (1)

UMS-Wright | Mobile, AL

7A Enterprise (14) vs. 5A No. 7 West Point (4)

Auburn, AL - The 7A Enterprise Wildcats faced off with the 5A No. 7 West Point Warriors with the Wildcats coming away with a 14-4 victory in 5 innings. The Wildcats gave the ball to Logan Fleming while the Warriors countered with Caiden Rodgers. Both starters were effective from the onset as the game remained scoreless through 2 innings. 

The top of the 3rd inning saw West Point take a 3-0 lead as the Warriors loaded the bases with 1 out on 3 walks. Isaac Hoffpauir got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly that staked the Warriors to a 1-0 lead. JD Cochran and Chase Sibley each followed that up with RBI singles for the 3-0 lead.

That lead was short lived, as Enterprise erupted for 5 runs in the bottom half of the inning. CJ Wilkerson started the inning by drawing a walk and advanced to 3B on Dylan Gilbert’s double. Parker Sessions and Noah Loy each followed with RBI singles to cut the lead to 3-2. A Payton Easterling sacrifice fly and a Cole Hooper RBI single gave Enterprise their first lead of the day at 4-3, which they would not relinquish the rest of the game. A bases loaded walk to Wilkerson, his second of the inning, gave the Wildcats their 5th run of the inning and a 5-3 lead.

The Wildcats retired the Warriors in the 4th before adding 3 more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Sessions and Loy were at it again as Sessions led off the frame by smashing the first pitch of the at-bat for a double while Loy followed that up with a single to out two runners on with no outs. Jack Williams promptly drove both in on a 2 RBI single to right field. Hooper added another RBI of his own with a double to drive in Williams and give Enterprise an 8-3 lead.

The Warriors cut the lead to 8-4 in the top of the 5th as Cochran once again delivered an RBI single but the Wildcats erupted for 6 runs in the home half of the 5th inning to end the game. Will Powell would get involved in the scoring as his 2 RBI single made the score 10-4. Easterling then followed up his previous sacrifice fly with an RBI double and Hooper once again delivered an RBI single to make the score 12-4. The Wildcats would finish things off on a Bowen Beckham RBI single and a Micah Yoo bases loaded HBP for the final margin of 14-4. 

Top Performers – Enterprise

Logan Fleming – 4 IP (W), 5 hits allowed, 3 earned runs, 4 Ks, 3 BBs

Parker Sessions – 4-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3 runs scored, 1 SB

Noah Loy – 2-3, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored, 1 SB

Jack Williams – 4-4, 2 RBIs, 3 runs scored, 3 SBs

Cole Hooper – 3-4, 3 RBIs, 1 run scored, 1 2B, 1 SB

CJ Wilkerson - 1-1, 3 BBs, 1 RBI, 1 run scored

Payton Easterling - 1-4, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored, 1 2B

Top Performers – West Point

JD Cochran – 2-3, 2 RBIs

Will Cochran – 2-2