Issac Smith (35) went three for five with three RBIs at the plate in Vinemont's 8-4 win over Good Hope. (Martha Needham for The Cullman Tribune)
HOLLY POND, Ala. – The 2019 Cullman County Baseball Tournament got underway at Holly Pond High School Wednesday afternoon with a matchup between Hanceville and Cold Springs. The Bulldogs topped the Eagles 8-5 to advance, Vinemont followed them by knocking off Good Hope 8-4 and Fairview capped off day one with a 15-5 win over Holly Pond.
Hanceville 8 – Cold Springs 5
Hanceville punched its ticket to the semi-final round with an 8-5 win over Cold Springs in the opening game of this year’s county baseball tournament.
The Eagles struck first in the opening frame when Lawson Burgess put one off the right field fence to make it 1-0 early in the game. A pair of wild pitches and a fielder’s choice put the Bulldogs in front 3-1 in the bottom of the first and an RBI single from Ephrium Milne made it 4-1 going into the second.
Cold Springs tied the game at 4 apiece in the top of second when they brought in two runs on an error and a third with a sacrifice fly from Roberto Ayala and the Eagles retook the lead with an RBI single off the bat of Jake Abbott.
The Bulldogs moved back in front for good in the bottom of the second when Ashton James scored on an error to tie the game at 5 and Matthew Cornelius scored on an error to make it 6-5. After three scoreless innings, Hanceville tacked on two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to pull away and win it 8-5.
The Bulldogs recorded just three hits in the win, coming from Milne, James and Isaac Holmes. Brodi Williams finished with a game-high two RBIs and Burgess, Ayala and Ayden Alexander each drove in a run as well.
Hanceville will advance to Thursday’s semi-final round and take on Fairview at 5 p.m. for a chance to play for this year’s county title.
Vinemont 8 – Good Hope 4
After falling behind in the first inning, Vinemont scored a run in the final six frames to knock off Good Hope 8-4 and advance to the semi-finals.
The Raiders plated a pair of runs on an error in the bottom of the first, but the Eagles tied the game by scoring on two wild pitches in the top of the second. An RBI single from Issac Smith put Vinemont in front 3-2 in the top of the third but another error allowed Good Hope to tie the game back up in the bottom half of the inning.
Vinemont moved back ahead on a wild pitch in the fourth and stretched the lead to 5-3 on an error in the top of the fifth. Austin Wright brought another run in for the Raiders with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning that trimmed the lead to 5-4. The Eagles began to pull away in the sixth by scoring on an error and an RBI single off the bat of Lucas Miller. Smith collected another RBI single in the top of the seventh to make it 8-4 and seal the win for Vinemont.
Smith led the way for the Eagles in the win, going three for five at the plate with three RBIs and Zander Noblett and Hudson Wood each picked up two hits as well.
Vinemont will advance to take on West Point in the semi-final round Thursday at 3 p.m. with a spot in the county title game on the line.
Fairview 15 – Holly Pond 5
The Aggies secured their spot in Thursday’s semi-final round by putting up seven runs in the fifth inning to pull away from Holly Pond.
Dalton Payne tripled in the bottom of the first to give Fairview an early 1-0 lead, but the Broncos scored on an error and an RBI single from Kyler Chaney in the top of the second to make it 2-1. The Aggies tied the game on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the second and Malcolm Parker made it 3-2 with a sacrifice fly before Riley Carroll put one over the left field fence to score two runs and stretch the Fairview lead to 5-2.
A sacrifice fly from Andy Light cut the lead to 5-3 in the third but an RBI single from Preston Ryan put the Aggies back up by three. An error allowed Fairview to extend the lead to 7-3 in the fourth, but Holly Pond tacked on two runs to cut into the lead in the bottom half of the inning.
The Aggies blew things open in the bottom of the fifth. Dayne Black got things started with an RBI single and Payne followed him with another triple that stretched the lead to 10-5. Fairview scored on an error and a passed ball to make it 12-5 and a two-run single from Ryan extended the lead to 14-5. Black drove in another run with an RBI single in the sixth to make it 15-5 and end things early.
The Aggies racked up 16 hits in the win, led by Black and Ryan who each finished with three hits and three RBIs. Carroll, Payne, Martin and Oakley Mullican each collected two hits of their own.
Fairview will advance to play Hanceville Thursday at 5 p.m. with a chance to play in this year’s county title game on the line.
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