KIMBERLY, Ala. – After splitting the first two matchups with the Blue Devils Thursday night, the Bearcats returned to Mortimer Jordan Friday afternoon for a game three and punched their ticket to the second round for the 21st consecutive season with a 3-1 win. Riley Jackson got the start on the mound and earned the win after tossing five innings, one run on five hits and striking out five batters.
A pair of errors allowed Cole Floyd and Paxton Ponder to cross the plate in the top of the first and give Cullman a 2-0 lead and runs were hard to come by after that. After a scoreless second and third inning, the Blue Devils led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo homerun to trim the lead to 2-1 going into the fifth.
A leadoff walk and a single gave the Blue Devils a pair of runners in scoring position with just one out in the bottom of the fifth but Jackson and the ‘Cats defense picked up the final two outs to leave them stranded and maintain a 2-1 lead for Cullman. Later in the top of the sixth, Cody Jones reached base with a single and Ponder ripped a triple into left field to bring around to score, stretching the lead to 3-1 going into the bottom half of the sixth.
The Bearcats collected the final three outs in the bottom half of the seventh and secured their spot in round two with a 3-1 win over the Blue Devils.
Easton Peed tossed the final two innings for Cullman, allowing no hits and striking out a pair of batters. Ponder (one RBI) finished 3-for-3 at the plate in the win and Jackson added a pair of RBIs. Jones posted a pair of hits for Cullman and Elijah Hayes and Zane Watwood each added a hit as well.
The Bearcats will return home next Friday to host the Athens Golden Eagles in round two.
More round one playoff scores
Arab 6 – Moody 3 (Game One)
Arab 7 – Moody 3 (Game Two)
With the win, Arab advances to play either Jasper or Alexandria in round two.
Coosa Christian 8 – Addison 7 (Game One)
Coosa Christian 5 – Addison 4 (Game Two)
North Sand Mountain 2 – Cold Springs 1 (Game One)
Westminster Christian 12 – Hanceville 1 (Game One)
Westminster Christian 18 – Hanceville 0 (Game Two)
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