With a five-run fifth and a four-run sixth inning last Thursday in Game 3, the Spanish Fort Toros punched their ticket to the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Class 6A state finals for the first time since a string of five straight trips from 2010-2014 with a 9-6 win over Stanhope Elmore.

Baldwin County’s other representative in last weekend’s semifinals, Bayside Academy, fell in its Class 4A series against UMS-Wright to find the end of the road with a 25-11 overall record. The Admirals won Game 1 at home by a 9-0 score before the Bulldogs rattled off wins of 7-4 and 11-4 to set up a championship contest with Etowah.

Similarly, Spanish Fort fell in Game 1 by a 5-4 score in walk-off fashion then returned the favor by walking off as the home team in Game 2 with a 10-9 victory that manufactured the decisive third game. The Toros went the same route in the first and third rounds with a second-round sweep sandwiched in between.

In the semifinals on the road against Stanhope Elmore, the do-or-die Game 3 saw the Toros take a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning only for a weather delay to roll through and suspend play. On the other side of the break, Spanish Fort collected a four-spot and never looked back to seal the deal.

DJ Eurgil went the distance on the mound through the delay where he racked up seven strikeouts and allowed six runs on nine hits although only two runs were earned.

The Toros drew the Oxford Yellow Jackets in the championship series that started Tuesday and crowned a winner Wednesday at Jacksonville State. Oxford took down Center Point, Mountain Brook, Hartselle then Cullman to reach the finals where only the second-round series went to three games.

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