By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser
A 9-2 win over the Stanhope Elmore Mustangs propelled the Chilton County Tigers varsity baseball team to an area championship on April 14.

With two scoreless innings down, the Mustangs put the first runs of the game on the board with a leadoff walk by Alex Johnson that set up an RBI single by Tanner Anderson to put Stanhope up 1-0.

The Tigers answered the call in the home half of the inning, as Trevor Thompson reached on a Mustangs’ error and set up an RBI double by Kendall Davis to tie the game at one.

With Davis later scoring on a wild pitch at the plate, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead to the fourth.

A leadoff ground ball by Tripper Warlick allowed the Mustangs’ batter to reach safely after a Tigers’ error, and Warlick later scored on a bases loaded balk by the Chilton County pitcher, the game was tied at two.

A leadoff walk by Dustin Langston in the home half of the inning was followed by three consecutive outs that stranded the Chilton County runner at second, while sending the game to the fifth tied at two.

With the bases loaded and only one out on the board, the Mustangs looked poised to put up big numbers in the top of the fifth, but an offensive interference call at second and a strikeout at the plate brought the top of the fifth to a close with the score remaining tied.

A leadoff walk by Griffin Green and a one-out intentional walk to Dustin Cleckler turned out to be big for the Tigers after a two-RBI double to deep center field by Keaton Sullivan.

Langston followed suit with a double to deep right center that scored Sullivan and gave the Tigers a 5-2 led.

Again the Mustangs loaded the bases with one out, and again the Tiger defense answered the call by coming up with a ground ball out and a fly ball to left that was hauled in by Thompson to bring the top of the sixth to a close.

The Tigers’ sudden hot bats stayed hot in the top of the sixth, as a one-out hit by Green set up an RBI single by Davis and was followed by an RBI double to deep left center by Dustin Cleckler.

Gage Atcheson tripled off the right center wall to score Jackson Mosley, while giving the Tigers a commanding seven-run lead heading to the top of the seventh.

A leadoff strikeout was followed by a hit by pitch, but a second strikeout brought the game down to its final out, where a ground ball back to pitcher Gabriel Gray was hauled in and tossed to first base to seal an area championship for the Tigers.

Davis led the Tigers at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance with a single, double and two RBIs, while Rylee Thornton got the start on the mound and threw 5 1/3 innings with one earned run on six hits, five walks and three strikeouts.