OXFORD – Sumiton Christian rebounded from Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to Sweet Water by ripping 16 hits in the deciding Game 3 and the Eagles rolled to the Class 1A Baseball state championship with a 14-3 win in the finals.
The two teams played game two Wednesday morning with Sweet Water sinning 6-2 to force the third game in the best two-of-three series at Jacksonville State University’s Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
Sumiton Christian (28-5) jumped out quickly in game three to take a 5-0 lead after two innings. Lead-off hitter Austin Scobey opened game three with a sharp single up the middle. Before he was through, he had three hits, including a triple, three RBIs and was named the Class 1A State Championship Series MVP.
Kaden Parrish had three hits, including two doubles, Colton Glass stroked three hits with a double and two RBIs, and Yancey Young finished with three hits and three RBIs. Yancey, as it turns out, was the glue that held the Eagles together, said Coach Ricky Bowen. The senior discovered he had cancer last summer and spent the last nine months undergoing rigorous treatments with hopes of rejoining the team.
“When Yancey was taken to the hospital, I think the entire baseball team family went to be with him,” said Bowen. “He is reason this team looks at each other as a family.”
Yancey said he was glad to contribute to the state championship run, but more importantly, was glad to be with his extended family knowing they always have been there for him.”
Rusty McDonald also had two hits for the Eagles, who won the school’s first state championship since 2004.
Austin Hubbard hurled six strong innings to get the victory. He allowed six hits, three runs, walked one and struck out seven.
Sweet Water (23-16) fell behind 10-1 but clawed back to force the game to go all seven innings. Bulldogs Coach Dawson Turberville said that didn’t surprise him. “This program has won just about as many baseball state championships as the football team has,” he said. “These kids weren’t even born when Sweet Water won its first state championship (1979), but they have the same determination in them.
“They give it their all to the very end.”
Senior shortstop Parker Townsend had a double and single and drove in one run for Sweet Water in the final game. Payton Averette and Maddox Henson each slugged a triple for the Bulldogs.
Sweet Water’s baseball program has won 10 state championships – and have won a state championship or runner-up trophy in six straight decades. The football team at the Marengo County school has 11 state titles. The school have won football and baseball state championships in the same school year four times and in the same calendar three times (1982, 1986, and 2017).
GAME 2: Sweet Water 6, Sumiton Christian 2
JACKSONVILLE – Sweet Water High state baseball championship hopes alive Wednesday morning beating Sumiton Christian 6-2 in game two of the AHSAA Class 1A State Baseball Championship Series at Jacksonville State University’s Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
Sumiton Christian won Game 1 on Tuesday, 3-2. The deciding Game 3 was set to start at 30 minutes following Wednesday’s Game 2.
Winning pitcher David Etheridge tossed a five-hitter, walked five and struck out four to get he complete game win for the Bulldogs (23-15) in game two. Justin Hicks started for Sumiton Christian (27-5) and went 3 2/3 innings allowing all six runs to get the loss.
Sweet Water, coached by Dawson Turberville, collected eight hits – breaking the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning bunching three hits, two hit-by-pitches and two walks to plate four runs. The game was tied 2-2 heading into that frame. Maddox Henson singled in one run, lead-off hitter Parker Townsend drilled a single to right field to drive in two more runs, and Ethan Carr walked with the bases loaded to plate the final run.
Kaden Parrish delivered an RBI double in the first inning for Sumiton Christian, coached by Ricky Bowen, to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Colton Glass tripled in the second inning and scored on Hicks’ groundout to push Sumiton to a 2-0 lead.
Sweet Water got one run back in the bottom of the second when Payton Averette tripled in a run. Townsend singled in the bottom of the third, stole second and third, and scored on an infield groundout by Nate Norris.
Townsend finished with three hits and Averette had two to lead Sweet Water. Five different players had a hit for Sumiton Christian.
GAME 1: Sumiton Christian 3, Sweet Water 2
OXFORD – Sumiton Christian used two timely hits and a solid pitching performance to a 3-2 win over Sweet Water as the AHSAA Class 1A State Baseball Championships opened play with game one at Choccolocco Park Tuesday morning at the park’s signature baseball stadium.
The two teams resume their best two-of-three series at Jacksonville State University’s Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium Wednesday with game two at 10 a.m., followed by game three if needed.
Winning pitcher Luke Shumate hurled a complete game allowing six hits, one earned run, walking two and striking out 10. Sweet Water’s Nate Norris was just as effective giving up only three hits, two earned runs, walking five and striking out four.
The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Maddox Henson, batting eighth in the lineup, singled and later scored on a wild pitch. Sweet Water extended its lead to 2-0 in the top of the third when lead-off hitter shortstop Parker Townsend tripled and scored and scored on a single by David Etheridge.
Sumiton scored all its runs in the bottom of the third with Austin Scobey and Shumate socking back-to-back doubles to start the inning. Scobey scored on Shumate’s hit, and pinch runner Noah Godwin, running for the pitcher, later scored from third on a passed ball. Kadem Parrish scored what turned out to be the winning run after drawing a walk, moving to second on the passed ball, stealing third and scoring on a sacrifice fly by eighth grader Colton Glass.
