Bucs are Montgomery bound
HOOVER -- One game-winner is good, but two are better.
The Hoover High School baseball team rallied Saturday in the final inning for three runs and defeated Vestavia Hills 3-1 to win the Class 7A semifinal series. Hoover (39-9) advances to face Auburn (27-10) in the Class 7A finals next week.
Game 1 will take place at 6 p.m. Friday at Paterson Field, with Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) set for 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday at Riverwalk Stadium.
“It’s something these kids have really worked hard for,” Bucs head coach Adam Moseley said. “What you’re excited about as a coach is seeing people rewarded for their hard work.”
Drew Guffey’s two-run single to left field in the top of the seventh inning gave Hoover a 2-1 lead. Nolan Hammonds added an RBI single as insurance and the Bucs held on in the bottom of the seventh.
“That’s a situation you dream of as a kid, bases loaded, last chance in the game,” Guffey said. “I was looking for a fastball I could hit, and I got a good barrel on it. No better feeling than looking back in my dugout, in the stands, everybody going wild.”
Guffey admitted he did not sleep very well after Game 2 was postponed Friday night, but his anxiety faded as he stepped onto the field Saturday.
“It’s too late to be nervous,” he said. “I knew if I got my shot, I had to be ready.”
As the Bucs piled near the pitcher’s mound, Moseley stood off to the side.
“Just praying a little bit,” he said. “Very thankful.”
Vestavia Hills (20-18) got its lone run in the game Friday night before lightning postponed the contest. Eli Shunnarah had a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Rebels ace Caden Lemons, having thrown more than 25 pitches in one day on Friday, was unavailable to take the mound Saturday.
Rebel coach Jamie Harris said his Rebels allowed 13 seventh-inning runs to Hoover in their last three matchups.
“I can’t take anything away from them,” he said. “They got hits. Tip your hat to them.”
Moseley said Vestavia Hills’ players played hard.
“I don’t think anybody here wanted to stop playing, our side or their side,” he said. “I think we all wanted to keep going.”
In Game 2 for Hoover, Brandon Agsalud was 2-for-2. Guffey, Hammonds and Nick Davis each recorded a hit. Griffin Lape earned the win, allowing one hit in three innings. Brock Guffey got the save.
For Vestavia Hills, Andrew Knight was 2-for-3. Manning Owen and William Schaffeld each collected a hit. Josh Stevens took the loss, allowing three earned runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Game 1: Hoover 9, Vestavia Hills 8
In Game 1, Hoover exploded for five runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 8. The Bucs got RBI singles from Sonny DiChiara, Garrett Farquhar and Agsalud. C.J. Gilliland tied the game on a two-run double.
Peyton Wilson won the game for the Bucs in the bottom of the ninth on a single to right field that scored K.J. Watson, giving the Bucs a 9-8 win.
For Hoover, Wilson was 3-for-6. Farquhar and Hammonds were each 2-for-5. DiChiara earned the win, pitching two shutout innings. He allowed only a walk. Devin Cole got the start, and he allowed one earned run on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
For Vestavia Hills, Drew Stockton and Schaffeld were each 2-for-4 with an RBI. Bo Minor took the loss for the Rebels, allowing one earned run on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. Colton Lewis allowed five earned runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings as the starter. He also homered for Vestavia Hills.
“All we were saying was, ‘Watch out for those Hoover Bucs. They’re coming. Believe. Don’t quit,’” Guffey said. “There wasn’t a guy in the dugout that didn’t know we were going to walk it off.”