BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — After Lee-Scott Academy dropped their senior night 6-3 against Wetumpka High School on April 20, head coach Jarrod Cook was not pleased with the effort.
Just four days later, his team responded by sweeping Saint James School 4-1 and 4-2 in Montgomery on April 24 to open the 3A baseball playoffs in style.
During Game 1, Barrett Cook opened the contest for the No. 8 Warriors with a sacrifice fly into center field to plate Preston Huguley from third base.
LSA never looked back after that as Braden Martin dominated on the pitcher’s mound, holding the Trojans to seven hits and one earned run in seven full innings while striking out eight.
On the plate, Ethan Hardee led the charge for the Warriors by going 2-for-2 from the nine hole with an RBI.
The Warriors also played clean defense, committing no errors and turning a double play before the offense sealed the game with a run in the top of the fifth and two more in the sixth.
In the nightcap, Cook struck first again for LSA, this time delivering an RBI single in the opening frame.
The Warriors extended their lead in the third after Griffin Gaston singled to center, Cook tripled down the right-field line and Harrison Snow added an RBI groundout to make it 4-0.
While going 3-for-3 at the plate, Cook was arguably just as impressive as LSA’s ace. The right-hander allowed just three hits and two unearned runs over seven innings while striking out eight and walking three.
Those wins improve the Warriors’ overall mark to 22-11 on the year and sets up a second round showdown against Thorsby High School.
The Rebels are 23-8 overall and coming off a two-game sweep of Childersburg High School. THS won those games 5-0 and 13-3.
LSA with host a doubleheader against THS in the second round on May 1, with a third game also in Auburn on May 2 if necessary.
