CULLMAN, Ala. – The Bearcats dominated their opening round series against Hazel Green last week and they were back on Bill Shelton Field to face Pell City in the second round on Saturday. Cullman jumped out to an early lead in game one, but the Panthers plated eight runs in the fifth inning to pull ahead and went on to win it 10-6. It was Pell City that got off to a fast start in game two. The Panthers led 4-0 going into the fourth inning but the ‘Cats tied things up at 4 in the top of the fifth. However, Pell City was able to reclaim the lead in the sixth and held on to defeat the Bearcats 5-4, bringing Cullman’s season to an end in round two.
Pell City 10 – Cullman 6 (Game One)
The Panthers were able to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Bearcats got the run back in the bottom half of the inning when Brooks Heatherly scored on a fielder’s choice. In the bottom of the second, Cullman took advantage of two walks and an error to put another run on the board and take a 2-1 lead. Andrew Au kept things going with an RBI single up the middle to drive in Knox Mauldin and make it 3-1. Later in the inning, Cannon Bowen scored on a sacrifice fly from Colter Bowen to give the ‘Cats a 4-1 lead going into the third.
After a scoreless third inning, Pell City was able to push another run across the plate in the fourth to trim the lead to 2 and the Panthers’ bats got hot in the fifth. They posted seven hits, including a pair of home runs, to score eight runs and move out in front 10-4. The Bearcats were able to chip away some of the lead in the bottom half of the fifth. Bennett Johnson scored on a fielder’s choice to cut the lead to 5 and another RBI single off the bat of Au drove in Carson Stancil to make it a 10-6 game going into the sixth.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, those were the last runs Cullman put on the board and Pell City took game one 10-6.
Au finished with two hits and two RBIs in the loss. Johnson (one hit), Loftin and Bowen each added an RBI as well.
Pell City 5 – Cullman 4 (Game Two)
After a scoreless first inning, Pell City plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to take a 2-0 lead. The Panthers tacked on two more runs in the third to make it a 4-0 game, but Cullman was finally able to get on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. Stancil led off the inning with a double and after he moved to third on a wild pitch, Tyler Brock drove him in with a sacrifice fly to trim the lead to 4-1.
The ‘Cats took advantage of another scoring opportunity in the fifth inning. An error allowed Andrew Au to reach first base and a passed ball allowed him to advance to second. A few pitches later, Brooks Heatherly knocked an RBI single up the middle to drive in Au and bring the lead down to 4-2. Later in the inning, Bennett Johnson blasted a 2-run bomb over the left field wall to tie the game at 4 and swing the momentum back to Cullman’s dugout.
The Bearcats made quick work of the Panthers in the bottom half of the fifth and went back to work at the plate in the top of the sixth. Knox Mauldin singled up the middle and Au drew a walk to give Cullman a pair of runners, but they were left stranded and the score remained knotted at 4. Pell City moved in front in the bottom of the sixth, pushing one run across the plate to take a 5-4 lead into the final frame.
Down to their final three outs, Heatherly led off the top of the seventh with a walk to put the tying run on base. Colter Bowen laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Heatherly over to second base and Johnson ripped a single to left field to put runners on the corners. Tyler Brock was intentionally walked to load the bases but the ‘Cats were unable to take advantage of the scoring opportunity and Pell City held on to win game two 5-4 and advance to round three.
Johnson (two RBIs) and Heatherly (one RBI) each posted a pair of hits in the loss.
Copyright 2025 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
