Cullman County Baseball Tournament: Day Four

WEST POINT – For the first time in the 2013 Cullman County Baseball Tournament, it was perfect weather for baseball. With a gentle breeze blowing from right to left field, six teams laced up their cleats for a chance at the title.

Fairview Aggies vs. West Point Warriors

12 strike outs in a tournament is good, 12 in a game is impressive, but 12 strike outs in five innings? That is Wesley Waters.

Waters recorded 15 outs in his five inning outing, 12 by the way of the K. To say he was feeling it was an understatement as he gave up just one run, unearned, on two hits and no walks.

“I was shaky in the first,” said Waters, “then I settled down and focused on throwing strikes.”

Fairview scored their only run on an errant throw to first allowing Cody Edge to score. West Point quickly tied it up in the bottom of the first when Dalton Looney lined a single to right field for one of his four RBI's on the day, scoring Wesley Smith.

The Warriors added single runs on the second and the third on a sacrifice fly by Ryder Jones in the second and an RBI single by Jordan MaKenzie in the third.

West Point broke it open in the fifth when Waters doubled to start the inning. Smith then reached on a fielder’s choice bringing Dalton Looney to the plate. He promptly took the pitch from Bryant Powers over the left field fence for a three run homer, the first of his career.

“I didn't see it (go over) but it was awesome,” said Looney of his first career home run.

They tacked on two more insurance runs on an RBI ground out by Cameron Brock and apassed ball that allowed Tate Duckett to score.

Ryder Jones finished the game, pitching the sixth and seventh. He gave up two hits and recorded four strike outs in his two innings of work.

Hanceville Bulldogs vs. Good Hope Raiders

Hanceville pounded out eight runs on 11 hits, defeating the Good Hope Raiders to stay alive in the baseball County Tournament.

Twitty got Hanceville on the board first with an RBI single to score Loggins. Good Hope came back to take the lead in the bottom of the first with RBI singles by Johnson and Witcher.

The two in the bottom of the first were the only runs that the Raiders were able to scratch across in the 8-2 loss.

Hanceville scored three in the second on a double by Coker and an error that allowed two more runs to cross. The Bulldogs sealed the win with a two RBI single by Weissand in the top of the fifth, making the score 8-2. This would hold up to be the final.

Hanceville moves on to play Vinemont for a spot in the loser's bracket against Fairview.

Vinemont Eagles vs. Hanceville Bulldogs

The final game of the night featured the Vinemont Eagles vs. the Hanceville Bulldogs. With two evenly matched teams, the game would be decided by plays in the field.

Vinemont had a tough time fielding the ball, committing five errors in four innings of play. The miscues cost Vinemont one run directly and allowed base runners that would also come home to score. This put the Eagles in a deep 5-1 hole.

However, Vinemont never quit clawing. In the fifth, Vinemont plated three. A triple by Duncan Hopper and a single by Ty Jones plated two of the runs. The Eagles drew one run closer when head coach Chad Shannon sent Jones from third in one of the rarest of baseball plays, a steal of home.

The top of the sixth was the game changing inning. Vinemont tied the game when Riley Foust scored on an error to make the score 6-6. However the big blow came off the bat of Drake when he hit a ringing double into left field, plating two and giving Vinemont the 7-5 advantage. This is a lead that the Eagles would hold for the rest of the game, defeating Hanceville and earning the right to face Fairview in the final game of the loser's bracket and a shot at West Point for the Cullman County Baseball title.