By Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
Stanhope Elmore High School baseball’s program is headed back to the state semi-finals for the 11th time in school history, which includes the 2006 state champions and the state runner up in 1991, 1992, and 2002. The Mustangs swept Spanish Fort in two games in the Class 6A 3rd round on Friday night, winning 5-4 and 5-0.
In Game 1, the Mustangs trailed 4-3 headed into the bottom of the 7th inning. Catcher Mack Boswell, who had a big hit in the 7th inning of Game 1 the week before against Helena, led off the 7th inning of Game 1 against Spanish Fort with a double.
After a strikeout and then a walk to the Mustangs’ Hayden Anderson, Romney Henry had a single to center field that brought in Boswell for the game tying run. With the game tied 4-4 and one out with a runner on 3rd base, Junior Justin Jones lined out to the left fielder. Anderson tagged up and beat the throw home for the winning score.
“They have been so resilient all year,” said Head Coach Kaleb Shuman. “They just don’t flinch when they get hit and refuse to give up. They keep finding a way to win, and we have a different guy come through each time. This time (in Game 1), it was the leadoff double by Mack Boswell, the RBI single to tie it by Romney Henry, and the sac fly to walk it off by Jordan Jones.”
Stanhope Elmore’s Tyler Woodham pitched a complete game for the Mustangs in Game 1. He didn’t allow any earned runs, and he didn’t walk a single batter.
After driving in the game winning score in Game 1, Jones went to the mound for the Mustangs in Game 2, and pitched five scoreless innings, striking out six batters and allowing only three hits.
The Mustangs scored four runs in the top half of the 2nd inning. With bases loaded and two outs, the Toros walked Boswell, bringing in a run. The next batter, Jackson Stallworth, hit a double that drove in three runs.
The Mustangs added another run in the top of the 7th to go up 5-0.
Senior Luke Payne pitched the last two innings for the Mustangs. He didn’t allow a hit and was credited with the save to punch the Mustangs’ ticket to the Class 6A semi-finals, setting off a large fireworks celebration to cap the end of an electric atmosphere at Stanhope Elmore’s Furlow Field.
“The atmosphere was awesome! The community and school really showed up and were constantly loud and encouraging. It was a lot of fun,” said Coach Shuman.
The Mustangs will travel to Chelsa for the Class 6A semi-finals, which are preliminarily scheduled to start on Thursday. Chelsea was ranked #3 in Class 6A in the final poll before the playoffs started (and Stanhope Elmore was unranked), but the Mustangs have already shown they can knock off good teams. In the 2nd round, the Mustangs traveled to Helena and beat the #6 ranked team in 6A. In the 3rd round, the Mustangs beat Spanish Fort, who was ranked #8 in 6A in the final poll.
“Our mindset is going to stay the same,” said Coach Shuman. “Focus on remaining locked in with our mentality and continue to strive to improve what we do.”
