By Lee Davis
A pair of storms dominated the Class 7A second round baseball playoff between heavily favored Vestavia Hills and Oak Mountain.
The first involved the weather. The second involved the underdog Eagles.
After losing Friday’s opener in a game shortened by a five-hour rain delay, Oak Mountain rallied for two dramatic victories Saturday to advance to the playoff’s third round.
The Eagles tied the series with a 4-0 shutout victory in the first game and then rallied from a two-run deficit in game three to take a 5-4 triumph.
Coach Jamie Harris’ Rebels took command of the deciding game early with a 4-2 lead, thanks in part to Nathan Hospes’ two-run homer in the second inning.
“At times we looked dead in the water,” Oak Mountain coach Derek Irons said later. “It looked like we dug ourselves a hole. But we just kept fighting and fighting and found a way to do it.”
Did they ever.
Not known as a power hitting team, Oak Mountain’s rally began with John McDonald’s home run deep over the left field wall of Sammy Dunn Field, cutting the margin to 4-3.
“I saw the pitch come right at me and break inside, so I put the swing on it,” McDonald said.
The Eagles got another break when a Vestavia throwing error scored Caleb Floyd.
A sacrifice fly by Jake Elkins brought home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
On the other side, Oak Mountain pitcher Gene Hurst – who took the loss on the previous evening – pitched middle inning relief and kept Vestavia from adding to its run total.
Floyd came to the mound in the seventh inning to shut down the Rebels’ last bid for victory.
“All the work we did at the beginning of the year is paying off now,” said Floyd. “It was a great team effort. Our guys did a great job of closing it at the end.”
Oak Mountain moves on to the next round with a best-of-three series with Hewitt-Trussville. The Rebels end their season with a 29-6 record.
The series opener on Friday was disrupted by severe rain and hail. Vestavia earned a 4-0 win in a contest called after only four innings.
Chris Fisher sparked the Rebels with three hits and Braxton Arnold earned two RBIs. Caden Lemons pitched a two hitter while fanning three Eagle batters.
In other Class 7A play, red-hot Hewitt-Trussville swept Hoover by scores of 18-4 and 11-7.
The first game began Friday and was completed Saturday due to the weather. But even a delay couldn’t stop the blazing Huskie bats.
Ty Robinson led Hoover in the second game with three hits and three RBIs. Hewitt’s Jamison Stennis closed the deal in the second game with a grand-slam homer in the eighth inning.
Hoover finished the season 28-22.
In Class 6A play, Homewood was eliminated by Oxford 4-3 in the third game of a three-game set played Saturday at the Yellow Jackets’ home field. The Patriots took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning before Oxford rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the frame.
The Patriots opened the series Friday with a 2-1 victory. John Wildman and Jake Burdeshaw each had RBIs and Carson Griffis earned the win on the mound.
Homewood started strongly in the second game, opening the scoring with Jacob Patton’s sacrifice fly. Jacob Fitts scored off of a wild pitch to give the Patriots a 2-0 advantage. Oxford responded with 14 runs, including 11 in the seventh inning.
