Apr. 4—Hartselle continued its winning ways Thursday, taking down Decatur 14-2 in five innings to clinch its area series with the Red Raiders.
The Class 6A, No. 1 Tigers have been red hot lately, winning eight games in a row and 11 of their last 12.
"We're starting to play just good, consistent baseball. We're running the bases and having good at-bats," Hartselle head coach Brad Phillips said. "We've also been really good on the mound. We've had some good starts, and it's allowed us to keep our bullpen fresh. Anytime you can go into a series feeling fresh, you feel like you've got the upper hand."
Hartselle's offense has been explosive over the last 12 games, in which the Tigers have outscored their opponents 86-28.
"Our approach has been better lately," senior Asher Doepel said. "We're not trying to do too much and just letting things happen. We're all good hitters, so when you have a good approach, good things tend to happen."
"We're having unselish at-bats, and when you do that, balls start to fall that aren't supposed to and you get hits that aren't supposed to be hits," Phillips added.
Hartselle wasted no time getting things going on Monday, scoring three runs off a Ty Marsh RBI and a Cruise Baker two-run home run in the first inning.
The Tigers blew the game open in the second inning; scoring six runs, before adding five in the fourth and fifth innings.
Doepel finished the game with two hits, three RBIs and scored two runs. Keaton Lance added three hits and two RBIs, while Easton Nelms and Cole Miles both added two hits and an RBI.
Reeves Waller led Decatur with a hit and an RBI. Trey Greenwell added a hit and scored a run.
With the win, Hartselle moves to 20-6 on the season with Decatur falling to 7-15.
The Tigers, which came into the season with almost an entirely new lineup from last year's state finals team, feel they're hitting their stride entering the last week of the regular season.
"We had a new team so it took some time for everything to come together," Doepel said. "I knew it would happen eventually, and now's the right time. If we can keep this going, we feel pretty good about our chances in the playoffs."
— caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
