Bucs clinch Area 5

Hoover baseball defeated Tuscaloosa County 4-0 and 8-2 on Thursday night, with the first game clinching Class 7A, Area 5 for the Bucs.

Garrett Farquhar was stellar on the mound, as he went 5.2 innings, giving up no runs and striking out a pair to earn the win. Brock Guffey threw 1.1 perfect innings in relief, striking out two of the four batters he faced, and earned his second save of the year.

Hoover started the scoring in the third inning. After a lead-off walk from Hunter Barton and a sacrifice bunt from Nolan Hammonds, Ty Robinson drove in the first run of the game with a two-out RBI on a line drive through the left side. Noah Barron followed with his 19th double of the season and with runners on second and third, Tyler Williams roped a double in the right-centerfield gap to drive in two more, giving the Bucs a 3-0 lead.

Hoover added an insurance run in the fifth with another two-out RBI from Williams on a single to left, scoring Robinson, but that was more than enough for the Bucs pitching staff, who threw their second shutout of the week.

The win in the first game guaranteed that the Bucs will play at home in the first round of the 7A playoffs in two weeks.

Hoover woke the bats up in the second game, scoring eight runs on 15 hits to give the Bucs a series sweep of the wildcats.

Jamie Vetrano (3-4) earned the win for Hoover, scattering nine hits through four innings of work, giving up no runs and striking out three.

Christopher Vacarella led the way for Hoover with a perfect 4-for-4 game, including two RBIs, a double, and a run scored. Williams had three hits and three RBIs, and he finished 5-for-7 with six RBIs on the day. Barron, Robinson and Max Garvey each had two hits for the Bucs with Gilliland and Hammonds each adding a hit. 

Hoover pushed their overall record to 27-14 on the season and will host Gardendale and Cherokee County on Senior Day, Saturday at Hoover High School, beginning at 10 a.m.

- Recap courtesy of Eric Hollis