CULLMAN, Ala. – The Bearcats climbed back and won their second game against Chelsea Friday night to force a game three Saturday but unfortunately for the home crowd, Cullman wasn’t able to get the bats going against the Hornets and Chelsea took game three 7-2 to advance to the next round.
Cullman collected two quick outs to start the top of the first, but a solo homerun kept the inning alive for the Hornets and gave them an early 1-0 lead. A single, an error and a walk loaded the bases for Chelsea and two more walks stretched the lead to 3-0 going into the bottom half of the inning. A double off the bat of Hayden Stancil gave the ‘Cats a runner in scoring position and he came home to score on a wild pitch later in the inning to trim the lead to 3-1.
However, the Hornets responded right away in the top of the second, building the lead back up to 6-1 after another pair of homeruns. They added to the lead with an RBI single in the top of the third that made it a 7-1 game, but the Bearcats got the run back in the bottom of the fourth when Jackson Stanford lifted a solo shot over the left field fence and cut the lead to 7-2. Unfortunately, Cullman was never able to get a rally started and only managed one more hit the rest of the way, allowing Chelsea to hold on and win it 7-2.
Kaleb Heatherly posted a pair of hits in the loss and tossed the final five innings on the mound, allowing one run (unearned) on just three hits and striking out four batters. Stanford (HR) finished with a hit and an RBI for Cullman and Stancil added a double as well.
The Bearcats finish the season 22-19 and with a big class of seniors preparing to collect their diplomas in May, there will be plenty of room for new faces to step in for Cullman next season.
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