SPANISH FORT, Alabama — The two-time defending state champion Spanish Fort Toros are headed back to Montgomery for the third straight season after sweeping Chilton County 6-5 and 13-0 in an AHSAA Class 5A baseball semifinal on Friday.

The Toros improved to 35-8 and will play the winner of the Southside-Gadsden and Hartselle series on Friday at 4 p.m. in Montgomery for the state championship.

"Nobody gave us a chance all year, all we heard was 'they lost seven starters and they've won it two years in a row' and we have just played with a big old chip on our shoulder all year," Spanish Fort head coach Tommy Walker said. "Every team we played in the playoffs thought they were better than us. Every team we played. I couldn't be more proud of our guys."

The Toros won the opener in dramatic fashion when Blain Crain's single drove in Matthew Harris from third for the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Harris was pinch running for catcher Shane English, who reached third after a Chilton County throwing error to first on his infield ground ball. 

"Blain had had a rough day and I asked him if he wanted me to pinch hit for him and he said 'no coach, I've got this,' and he came up with a big hit," Walker said. 

In the second game the Toros scored 11 runs in the first two innings to put the game out of reach early. In the first inning English had a two-RBI single, Tate Godwin drove in a run and Will Luft had two RBIs on a single. Spanish Fort came back with six runs in the second after English had an RBI on an infield hit, followed by back-to-back two-RBI doubles from Crain and Heith Brown. Luft added another RBI single in the second.

The Toros scored two more runs in the third on another RBI double from English and an RBI single from Godwin. Jesse McCord got the win with three strikeouts in five innings of work. He faced just 18 hitters before the mercy rule was enforced after five innings.