Eagles fall to Vestavia in Game 3
VESTAVIA HILLS – Six times in the last three weeks, the Vestavia Hills High School baseball team has faced a must-win situation to keep the season alive. Each time, the Rebels have won, including Monday night’s decisive Game 3 victory over Oak Mountain, 8-3, in the Class 7A quarterfinals.
Vestavia (20-16) won Games 2 and 3 against Oak Mountain, after falling in Game 1, to extend its season another week, and will play at Hoover in the semifinals. A doubleheader will begin Friday at 4:30 p.m., with a third game on Saturday if needed.
The Rebels and Eagles split the first two games of the series on Saturday.
Before that, the Rebels dropped the first game against Sparkman in the first round of the playoffs before rallying to win the final two games. Just to make it to the playoffs, Vestavia had to find a way to win the final two games of its series against Thompson to conclude the regular season.
“We’ve been here all year,” Vestavia coach Jamie Harris said. “A lot of teams we’re facing right now have not faced the adversity we have, so we’re comfortable in it. Our kids have embraced it.”
On Monday, the Rebels staked starting pitcher Josh Stevens to a three-run lead right off the bat, with a big first inning. DJ Steele hit a sacrifice fly, followed by Colton Lewis’ run-scoring double. Lewis came around to score on a passed ball as the Rebels took a 3-0 edge.
“It was huge,” Oak Mountain coach Derek Irons said. “Getting the lead in a Game 3 is a big deal. We were going to do whatever we could do in the top of the first to try to get a lead. Then, they don’t just take the lead, but they get a big inning, and that just takes so much pressure off their pitching and defense and puts us in a hole.”
Stevens battled through six innings and kept Oak Mountain at bay, as he finished with a line of eight hits, three runs, two walks and two strikeouts to notch the win.
Harris said, “Josh has been really, really good all year except for one outing. That was early in the year and after that, and even before that, he has been absolutely fantastic. All guts, pounds the strike zone, competes, couldn’t be more happy for that kid.”
Garrison Cherry worked a scoreless seventh to send the Rebels off with a series-clinching victory, capped off by a double-play grounder.
“You just see the hard work, the early morning workouts, the competitions we have all fall in the weight room, the practices, the running, you see all that pay off,” said Harris. “I’m just so proud of these kids and how resilient they are.”
Oak Mountain worked its way back into the game early on, as Logan Sheaffer’s RBI single in the second inning cut the deficit to 3-1. Vestavia’s Andrew Knight hit a sac fly to increase the lead back to 4-1, but the Eagles fought back again.
Garrett DeAraujo led off the third with a double and scored on an Ethan Holsombeck base hit up the middle. JJ McDonald followed with a hit, and runners moved up to second and third on a wild pitch. Mason Williamson’s slow grounder to the shortstop allowed a run in and shrunk Vestavia’s lead to 4-3.
The Rebels provided the final blow with a four-run fifth inning, largely on the strength of three bunt singles and a throwing error that allowed two runs to score. The result sent Oak Mountain home in the quarterfinal round for the second consecutive year.
“It was a great series,” Irons said. “We just didn’t do the things we had to do to win the game. We gave up 14 freebies and they took advantage every time. They did what they had to do to win the game and we did not.”
The departing Eagle seniors spearheaded the charge to Oak Mountain’s first two 30-win seasons and back-to-back quarterfinal appearances for the first time in school history.
“They’ve accomplished a ton in the last two years and I’m proud I got to be around to watch them,” Irons said.
In Game 3, Rebel leadoff hitter Drew Stockton finished 2-for-4 with a run scored. Lewis racked up three hits, scored twice and drove a run in. Holsombeck, McDonald and Sheaffer each had multi-hit games for Oak Mountain.
Caleb Floyd got the starting nod for Oak Mountain, and went 1 2/3 innings before being relieved by Scott Fleming, who threw 2 2/3 innings. Wesley Dennis hurled the final 1 2/3 innings.