CULLMAN, Ala. – Fresh off home wins over Sardis and Hillcrest, the Cullman Bearcats looked to add onto their winning streak at home against the Hartselle Tigers on Thursday night. Cullman could do no wrong in the second and third inning, where they jumped out to a 9-0 lead, but had to hold off a furious Hartselle rally late in the game to win 9-8.
Jake Weathersby got the start for Cullman and struck out two in a scoreless first inning. The Bearcats put a pair of runners on base with two outs in their half but were unable to score any runs that inning. Weathersby struck out the first two batters he faced to lead off the top of the second and despite giving up a single, he quickly got out of the inning on the next pitch. His teammates quickly gave him some run support and then some in their half.
Knox Mauldin, Clay Colvard and Case Edwards each hit singles to load the bases with nobody out. One out later, Jonah Inman lined an RBI single to center field to give Cullman the early lead. Tyler Brock followed that up with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Carson Stancil’s RBI single put them ahead, 3-0, then Brody Vincent delivered the big blow in that inning, as he lined the first pitch he saw over the right field fence for a three-run home run to stretch their lead to 6-0.
Weathersby got into a jam in the top of the third, where he allowed a pair of singles to lead the inning off. However, he was able to keep Hartselle out of the scoring column. The Bearcats played long ball to start out their half, as Mauldin hit the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a leadoff home run to put them ahead, 7-0. Back-to-back singles by Colvard and Edwards put runners on first and second with still nobody out, then Weathersby reached on an error, and that allowed Colvard to score to make it 8-0. Inman hit a sacrifice fly on the first pitch to increase their lead to 9-0.
Hartselle cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning. A leadoff single was followed by a two-run home run to cut it to 9-2. The Tigers continued to cut into Cullman’s lead in the top of the fifth. They hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, then a two-run single to center field trimmed it to five at 9-4. Later that inning, a sacrifice fly made it a four-run game. A walk put runners on first and second with one out, then a three-run home run over the center field fence quickly turned what started out as a rout into just a one-run contest at 9-8.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Hartselle looked to complete the comeback in the top of the seventh. A leadoff single and a one-out walk put runners on first and second, but new pitcher Michael Shadeck got the next batter to ground out into a game-ending double play, and Cullman (7-3) ended up outlasting the Tigers 9-8.
Vincent (home run) finished with three RBIs in the game for the Bearcats. Inman added a hit and two RBIs, while Stancil (three hits), Mauldin (home run), and Brock each posted an RBI in the win.
Cullman will look to extend their winning streak even more on Saturday afternoon against Southside (DH).
