By Brandon Sumrall / Special to the Advertiser

The Chilton County varsity boys baseball team kept their area championship dreams alive with a 6-5 come-from-behind win over area foe Stanhope Elmore April 10.

The Mustangs got on the board first with a two-out double by Chase Sink that would see him score after a passed ball at the plate. However, that lead would be short-lived as the Tigers would answer in the home half of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Cameron Baker that would score Griffin Green to tie the game at one after an inning of play.

The top of the second would be a big inning for the visiting team, as the Mustangs would pick up four runs. A leadoff single by Mitchell McCord would later add one run for Stanhope on a passed ball at the plate. A walk and a pair of bunts would load the bases for the Mustangs with no outs. A ball out of play on a bunt would advance all runners one base, while a pair of wild pitches would allow two more Mustangs to score to make it a 5-1 Stanhope lead.

A leadoff walk by Dalton Patterson and a walk to Riley Thornton would be of no help for the Tigers in the home half of the second, and the game would move to the third with the Mustangs leading 5-1.

A scoreless top of the third inning would allow opportunity for the Tigers to chip further into the Stanhope lead in the home half of the inning.

A leadoff walk by Green, a single by Tucker Price, and a single by Cade Minor would load the bases for the Tigers to start the home half of the second and would set up a run-scoring hit by pitch to Cameron Baker. Add in a walk issued to Jarrett Ricks, and the Tigers had cut the lead to two at 5-3.

A three up and three down top of the fourth would give way to the bottom half of the inning, where the Tigers would continue to chip away with one more run thanks to a RBI single by Minor to make it a 5-4 game.

A two-out walk for the Mustangs in the top of the fifth would result in no help while action would move to the bottom of the inning with Stanhope holding a one run lead.

Patterson would start the inning with a leadoff double that would set up a RBI double by Gabe Grey. After a steal of third by Grey, a sacrifice squeeze bunt by Pico Kohn would see the Tigers take their first lead of the game at 6-5.

The top of the sixth inning would see the Mustangs threaten with a pair of baserunners, but a third out strikeout by Chilton pitcher Seth Harris would bring the inning to a close. The Tigers would in turn threaten to add more runs in the bottom half of the inning, but the sixth would come and go with no change in the score.

A deep fly ball to center field would be hauled in for the first out of the seventh, while a strikeout by Harris would knock the Mustangs down to their final out. A single to Brody Feith and a walk to Chase Eddings would give Stanhope a little breath of life, but a game-ending strikeout by Harris would bring the game to a close while giving the Tigers a big area win.

Kohn got the start on the mound for the Tigers and threw five and two-thirds innings while allowing four earned runs on nine hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. Minor lead Chilton with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate with  three singles and a RBI.

The Tigers will need to take one game of a two-games series on the road against the Mustangs on Friday in order to clinch another area championship.