The Spanish Fort Toros’ baseball season came to an end in Game 2 of the Class 6A state championship series after the Oxford Yellow Jackets secured a 12-3 win Wednesday at Jacksonville State to …
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The Spanish Fort Toros’ baseball season came to an end in Game 2 of the Class 6A state championship series after the Oxford Yellow Jackets secured a 12-3 win Wednesday at Jacksonville State to finish a sweep of the best-of-three set.
Spanish Fort (29-19) earned its first Red Map trophy since 2013 after it claimed the third Area 2 title in five years under head coach JD Pruitt. The Toros registered playoff series wins over McAdory, Northridge, Saraland and Stanhope Elmore to advance to its first title series since 2014.
No. 6 Spanish Fort battled top-ranked Oxford (39-6) to a 6-5 defeat in Game 1 of the championship series.
After the Yellow Jackets got out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, the Toros responded with three runs of its own following an RBI hit from Brayden Cooper that scored Lakelon Ray, a bases loaded hit-by-pitch from Hayes Miller which scored Newton Gardner and a sacrifice fly from Jack Holley that scored Cooper.
Gardner tied the game for Spanish Fort in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly to score Blake Smith then after Oxford retook the lead in the top of the third, Smith’s hit that scored Nehemiah Hixon retied the game at 4-4 in the bottom half.
Neither team scored again until the seventh as Colin Murphy cruised through the middle innings allowing only one hit and two baserunners. Even in the final inning, the Yellow Jackets used only a double and a single to score their lone run and earn a win in the opening game of the series.
Oxford picked up where it left off in Game 2 and raced out to a 3-0 lead over Spanish Fort in the first only to own an 11-0 lead after four full innings. Needing two runs to extend the game and deny the run rule, the Toros registered three runs in the top of the fifth after Smith’s sacrifice fly scored Miller, Justin Fenderson (pinch running for Holley) scored on a passed ball and Pierce Dutton hit in Hixon.
However, those were the final hits of Spanish Fort’s season as Oxford recorded the final outs it needed to claim its first Blue Map trophy since 2012.
Dutton led the way offensively with three hits and an RBI in the championship series with Holley (2 hits, 1 RBI) and Cooper (1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 run) not far behind. Gardner finished the two-game set with 1 hit, 1 RBI and 1 run, Miller collected a hit and RBI, Ray registered 1 hit and 1 run, Smith drove in 1 run, Hixon scored 1 run and DJ Eurgil recorded 1 hit.
On the mound, Murphy had the longest outing at 6.1 innings where he allowed seven hits, six earned runs, walked two and struck out two. Mytch Deacy’s relief outing in Game 2 spanned 3.1 innings where Oxford batters recorded five hits, four earned runs, two walks and struck out once. Chris Sullivan provided 2.2 innings in his Game 2 start where he surrendered nine hits on eight earned runs and two walks.