PREP ROUNDUP: Decatur Heritage opens playoffs with split vs. Fayette County
Apr. 20—Paxton Tarver pitched 5 1/3 strong innings as Decatur Heritage opened the Class 3A state baseball playoffs with a 5-2 win over Fayette County on Friday.
Fayette County rallied to win the second game of the series 13-2, forcing a decisive Game 3 on Saturday.
Tarver allowed two earned runs on six hits to help the Eagles secure the win in Game 1. He walked four batters, struck out seven and threw 54 of 94 pitches for strikes.
Brady Wilson homered and drove in two runs for the Eagles, while Ford Sparkman added two hits and one RBI. Olsen Howard drove in a run and Bo Mitchell had two hits.
In the finale, Rafer Jones had a hit and one RBI for Decatur Heritage and Sparkman drove in one run. Howard doubled and Landon Henry added a single.
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Vincent 11-13, Lindsay Lane 1-2: Ethan Hotz had a pair of hits and one RBI as Lindsay Lane dropped its opening game in the Class 2A playoffs on Friday.
Vincent's Aiden Poe pitched all five innings for the win, allowing one run on five hits with 12 strikeouts.
Vincent pounded out 14 hits in the finale to eliminate Lindsay Lane. Alexander Cook homered and drove in two runs for Lindsay Lane.
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Springville 2-4, Ardmore 1-0: Seth Frame drove in Ardmore's only run as the Tigers dropped a tough game to open the Class 5A state playoffs on Friday.
Noah Stafford had two hits for the Tigers, while Zach Hall pitched 4 1/3 innings, striking out four.
Springville's Alex Holland pitched six shutout innings in the finale to eliminate Ardmore, allowing just three hits while striking out five. Stafford, Frame and Keaton Johns all had one hit for Ardmore.
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Ashville 6, West Limestone 5: A walk-off hit by Ashville's Justin Henderson in the bottom of the seventh inning capped a three-run rally in the opening game of the Class 4A playoffs on Friday.
The second game of the series was still being played at The Daily's print deadline, with West Limestone leading 7-4 in the top of the seventh inning.
West Limestone led 5-3 heading into the final inning in game one but couldn't hold the lead. Wesley Dean had a double and one RBI for the Wildcats, while Jarron Meredith added two hits, including a double.
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Softball
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Austin 7, Thompson 0: Abby Lindsey tossed a six-inning no-hitter for Austin on Friday, allowing just three walks while striking out three.
Rebecca Horn doubled and drove in two runs for the Black Bears, while Claire Wright added a solo home run. Kinsley Higdon tripled and drove in one run and Arden Breedlove had one hit and one RBI.
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Faith Academy 11, Austin 0: Lyndi Perkins had a pair of hits for the Black Bears on Friday.
Wright added a single for Austin, which was outhit 11-3 in the loss.
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Danville 3, Columbia Central (Tenn.) 0: McKinley McCaghren pitched six strong innings for Danville on Friday, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out 11 to pick up the win.
Aubrey Reed had two hits, including a home run, and two RBIs for the Hawks, while Adily Alberti added two hits and one RBI.
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Athens 8, Lauderdale County 0: Lexie Thorntondoubled and drove in four runs in a shutout win for Athens on Friday.
Amaya Green went 2-for-2 with a homer and three RBIs for the Golden Eagles, while Kara Crews added one hit and one RBI. Charlie Barnes, Lily Lowery and Jazzlyn Davis had two hits each and Camry Townsend pitched five innings for the win, allowing just two hits.
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West Limestone 4, Cherokee County 0: JuliAnn Kyle pitched a complete-game shutout for West Limestone on Friday, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out six over seven innings of work.
Addie Wallace homered and drove in two runs for the Wildcats, while Lilly Bethune added a solo home run.
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Ardmore 12, Westminster Christian 4: Ellie Riley went 2-for-2 with a triple and four RBIs to lead Ardmore on Friday.
Addison Mikel homered and drove in a pair of runs for the Tigers, while Payton Pennington added two hits and one RBI. Aynslee Malone pitched five innings to earn the win.
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Orange Beach 11, Lawrence County 4: LA Norwood and Ava Templeton had two hits and one RBI each for Lawrence County on Friday.
McKenzie Hyche drove in a run for the Red Devils, while AB McKay and Alivia Templeton added one hit each.
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Wayne County (Tenn.) 4, Hatton 3: Marlie Hood doubled and drove in two runs for Hatton on Friday. Anna Potter had two hits, including a triple, for the Hornets.
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Elkmont 3, Hatton 2: Savannah Williams homered and drove in two runs to lead Elkmont on Friday.
Mary Joyce Woodfin drove in a run for the Red Devils, while also pitching six innings for the win with a pair of strikeouts.
Kyli Smith had two hits and one RBI for Hatton, while Brianna Oliver added one hit and one RBI.
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Columbia 3, Clements 2: Peyten Burks had three hits, including a double, and one RBI for Clements on Friday. Bella Mann singled and drove in a run for the Colts.
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Soccer
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Danville girls 3, Susan Moore 2: Layla Sherrill, Josie Bailey and Brylee Terry scored one goal each as Danville secured a spot in the state playoffs with a win on Friday.
Wendy Reyes had 12 saves in goal for the Hawks, who advanced to the postseason for the fourth consecutive year.
