HANCEVILLE, Ala. – On Saturday afternoon at Hanceville High, defending County Tournament champion Fairview met with Good Hope in the title game. It promised to be an exciting one, with both teams winning in blowout fashion in their semifinal matchups.
The Aggies jumped out to a strong lead and held onto it for the majority of the game, but right at the end, Good Hope found some momentum. Camden Cullen, eventual Tournament MVP, shut the door on the comeback attempt, sealing the Aggies’ second straight County Tournament title with an 8-5 win over the Raiders.
“That was a good win- well, two really good wins. I thought we came out ready to play. We were kind of in a tough situation, we had a big area series with Arab on Tuesday and Thursday that burnt two of our starters,” Fairview coach Nick Dumas said. He continued, “We were thin on pitching, so we really needed the kids to swing the bats well and I thought we did that. Super proud of the guys. That’s our second one in a row, and I think it’ll springboard us through the rest of our games.”
Starting the game on the mound for the Aggies was Hunter Barron, who would be replaced by Cullen after two solid innings. Cullen, who earned the win, pitched five innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs but fanning six Raider batters. For the Raiders, Colbi Kilpatrick made the start, going for 1.2 innings and giving up five runs before being pulled.
Carrying over their scoring momentum from their blowout semifinal win, Good Hope struck first in the first frame. Barron gave up a walk to Carter Rutherford in the leadoff spot, who then stole second and advanced to third on an error. Two batters later, Micah Rickel knocked him in with a sac fly, giving the Raiders a swift 1-0 lead. Just as swift as they got it, however, they lost it in the bottom of the frame. Conner Scott got on base and made his way to third by way of a bunt and a dropped pop fly from Cullen. Neither had to wait long to touch home, as the next batter, Jaxson Robertson, cleared the bases with a double to put the Aggies up. Before the frame was over, Robertson would come home on a ground out, giving Fairview a 3-1 lead after one.
Barron struck out two Raider batters in the top of the second, but gave up a pair of walks before getting out of the jam with a pick at third base. In their half of the inning, the Aggies added to their lead in a big way. The first three batters got on base safely by way of a single, a walk and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases up, to the eventual delight of Cullen, who sent one home with a single to center field. A sac fly from Robertson sent home another, and a single from Lincoln Wright furthered the damage, allowing two more Aggie runners to make it home. In just minutes, the lead had grown to 7-1 for Fairview.
Good Hope, determined not to let things get too out of hand, put a point on the board in the top of the third. Parker Johnson grounded into a fielder’s choice that allowed Landon to score after an errant throw, making it a 7-2 deficit. An inning later, in the bottom of the fourth, a fielder’s choice from Wright allowed Nelson to touch home to extend Fairview’s lead to six again, with the score 8-2.
After a scoreless fifth from both teams, Good Hope found life in the sixth. Leading the inning off, Kayden Collins made it on after being hit by a pitch, then advanced to third through the next two at bats, which both ended with outs. With two outs on the board in desperation time, however, a walk got Rutherford on, and a single from Landon deep into the outfield emptied the bases to make it an 8-4 hole. With Rickel at the plate, he hit what should’ve been a fly out to deep center field that was dropped, allowing Landon to score and make it 8-5.
Sadly for the Raiders, their rally would end there, with a fly out ending the sixth and Cullen eventually shutting the door on any comeback attempts, sealing the Aggies’ 8-5 win.
2026 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Brandon Chasteen, Cold Springs
Camden Cullen, Fairview (TOURNAMENT MVP)
Jaxson Robertson, Fairview
Conner Scott, Fairview
Collin Nelson, Fairview
Carter Rutherford, Good Hope
Nash Landon, Good Hope
Christian Whatley, Hanceville
Titan Thornton, West Point
Charlie Ashley, West Point
