Prep roundup: Piedmont sweeps, Faith wins in baseball

Apr. 8—Sean Smith homered and drove in three runs, and Piedmont swept Pleasant Valley 16-1 and 11-1 on Wednesday to clinch their Class 3A, Area 11 series.

Piedmont (22-4) won 11-0 on Tuesday.

Smith went 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs in the 16-1 Piedmont victory.

Piedmont's other top performers of the day:

—Austin Estes, pitched no-hitter in five innings, allowed one earned run with one walk and six strikeouts.

—Max Hanson, 4-for-6, three runs, two RBIs.

—Noah Reedy, 2-for-4, two runs, three RBIs; pitched five innings, allowed two hits and one earned run with two walks and three strikeouts.

—Jack Hayes, 2-for-5, triple, two RBIs.

—Jadon Calhoun, 2-for-3, home run, double, three runs, three RBIs.

—McClane Mohon, 2-for-5, two runs, two RBIs.

—Jakari Foster, 2-for-5, three runs, two RBIs.

—Cassius Fairs, 2-for-4, one run, one RBI.

—Ridge Fagan, 1-for-2, double, one run, one RBI.

Pleasant Valley's top performers on the day:

—Garrett Cranmer, 1-for-3.

—Connor George, 1-for-4.

—Jackson Almaroad, two RBIs.

Ohatchee sweeps: Konnor Baswell pitched a one-hitter, and Devin Howell had a big night at the plate as Ohatchee swept Glencoe 2-0 and 14-5 in Class 3A, Area 11 action Wednesday.

Ohatchee coach Blake Jennings scored his 100th victory.

Baswell struck out three and walked three in the shutout. He also scored two runs and stole two bases in Game 2.

Howell went 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs in Game 3. His day included a double and two triples.

Ohatchee's other top performers:

—Justin Powell, 4-for-7, double, two runs, two RBIs on the day.

—Trey Pesnell, 2-for-4, two runs, one RBI in Game 2.

—Aidan Simpson, 2-for-4, two doubles, three runs, three RBIs in Game 2.

—Carson Tittle, 4-for-7, three runs, one RBI on the day; three stolen bases in Game 2.

—Jacob Roberts, 1-for-1, one RBI in Game 1; pitched three hitless innings with four strikeouts and no walks in Game 2.

Alexandria 10, Moody 4: DeShaun Foster drove in three runs, and Alexandria upped to 16-6 while clinching a 5A, Area 11 series.

Alexandria has clinched a playoff berth and will play St. Clair County for the area title next week.

Foster went 2-for-5 with a triple and scored a run.

Starter Andrew Allen and relievers Ryan Ritchie and Tripp Patterson combined to hold Moody to nine hits and three earned runs. Allen pitched five innings with 10 strikeouts and two walks. Ritchie and Patterson threw an inning apiece.

Alexandria's other top performers:

—Sam Wade, 3-for-3, one run, two RBIs, three stolen bases.

—Canyon Mickler, 1-for-2, one run, one RBI.

—C.J. Orr, 1-for-2, double, one run.

—Ian Cartwright, 1-for-1, one RBI.

—Seth Johnson, one RBI.

Oxford clinches: Trey Higgins backed up his Tuesday grand slam with a solo shot in Wednesday's Game 3, and Oxford swept Pell City 7-3 and 8-2 to clinch the 6A, Area 13 title.

The Yellow Jackets, ranked No. 2 in 6A, upped to 22-4 on the season.

Higgins went 2-for-5 with a home run, double, four runs and an RBI on Wednesday. Oxford's other top performers:

—Peyton Watts, 2-for-6, one run, one RBI; pitched 4 1/3 innings in Game 1 start, spreading out eight hits while allowing two earned runs and two walks with three strikeouts.

—Carter Johnson, 4-for-6, three RBIs, pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing two hits, no runs, three walks with four strikeouts in Game 1.

—Chance Griner, 2-for-5, double, one run.

—Trey Mooney, 2-for-2, one run, one RBI in Game 1;

—Nick Hamlin, pitched 4 innings, allowing two hits, two earned runs and two walks with four strikeouts in Game 2 start.

—Hayes Harrison, pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief in Game 2, allowing one hit, no runs, one walk with two strikeouts.

—Eli Bozeman, allowed no hits, runs or walks with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning of relief in Game 2.

Faith Christian 2, Ragland 1: Andrew Folsom hit a two-run home run in the first inning, and Alexzander Almanza made it stand by pitching a two-hitter for Faith (15-6).

Brodie Dodson, Brady Whitworth, Walker Whitworth, Parker Robertson and Kevin Emerson each had a hit for the Lions. Dodson hit a double.

Donoho 7, Randolph County 5: For three innings, Donoho played the gracious host for visiting Randolph County before defeating the Tigers 7-5. The Falcons advanced runners to third and second with one down in the first inning but didn't score. In the second, they loaded the bases with no one out — and still didn't score. Donoho grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third without getting a hit but left the bases loaded again.

After Randolph County took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning, Nick Thompson doubled to lead off the home half of the fourth, Blake Willingham walked and Judson Billings clouted a three-run homer.

Willingham opened the sixth inning for Donoho with a home run. Billings reached on an error then scored on a double by Lucas Elliott. Connor Goodson doubled to send Elliott home.

Willingham started on the mound for Donoho and gave up three runs, two earned, over six innings on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three. Randolph County loaded the bases against Billings on two walks and a hit batter in the seventh. Thompson came on in relief of Billings and closed out the game on a sacrifice fly, a ground ball out and a strikeout.

Top performers for Randolph County:

—Noah Turner, double, single, two runs.

—Jeremy Till, double, single.

—William Burns, double, three RBIs.