BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — With a 31-win season and a deep postseason run behind them, Auburn High School arrived at the 7A baseball championship series two wins shy of a state title.
However, the No. 5 Tigers (31-14) saw their championship hopes end in two games against No. 2 Hewitt-Trussville High School (34-9), falling 4-1 in the opener at Choccolocco Park on May 21 and 8-0 in the finale at Rudy Abbott Field on May 22.
It was the first time AHS had lost consecutive games since March 14.
Tigers head coach Tommy Carter said he came away proud of how his team fought even though they left without the trophy they wanted.
“Obviously [things didn’t] go the way we wanted, and hats off to Hewitt-Trussville, they came out swinging today and they swung the bat really well,” Carter said.
“We got down early, and I didn’t think we quit. We put up some zeros there at the end, and that’s what these guys have done all year. They don’t quit. I’m proud of them and can’t say enough about them. They made their community proud, made themselves and their families proud and myself proud, and we’re going to miss them tremendously.”
Angelo Santiago led AHS at the plate across the series, going 3-for-8, while Antwane Daniels and Britt Farr both finished 2-for-6.
Brady Sack drove in the Tigers’ only run of the series with a fifth-inning double to center field in Game 1 that scored Carter Chambley from second base.
AHS used eight different pitchers across the series, including six in the finale alone.
After a sterling postseason in the batters’ box, the Tigers mustered only one run in 14 innings as they faced two pitchers playing at the top of their game.
“I don’t think it was self-applied pressure, I think it was some grit,” Carter said. “It’s hard to hit a dang baseball, and so these guys shouldn’t hang their heads for whatever happened: getting out, striking out, going up there and playing the game that they’ve played since 6, 7, 8 years old. And even though we didn’t get the result [we wanted], they’ll look back and say, ‘Hey, we gave it all we got, we left it all out on the field.’ We wrote our story, but we just didn’t get the ending we wanted, and that’s life.”
Game 1
In a gritty series opener, the Tigers took the lead in the top of the fifth when Sack doubled to center field to plate Chambley from second.
However, HTHS answered in the bottom of the inning, when Hudson Mitchell doubled to put the Huskies ahead 2-1, then added two more in the sixth on back-to-back bases-loaded walks.
Series most valuable player Jace Riggan earned the win for HTHS, allowing four hits and one run over seven innings while striking out eight and walking four.
Ethan Wade was charged with the loss for AHS. In four innings, the righty allowed three hits and two runs — both earned — while walking two batters.
Santiago, Ryan Farr, Sack and Antwane Daniels each collected one hit for the Tigers.
Game 2
In the finale, the Huskies opened the scoring in the first when Mitchell singled down the left field line and Cale McIntosh grounded into a double play that brought home another run for a 2-0 lead.
Riggan then singled down the right field line in the second to extend the advantage to 4-0.
Hewitt-Trussville broke the game open in the third when McIntosh singled to center field and two AHS errors in consecutive at-bats allowed three additional runs to score.
A bases-loaded walk in the seventh added the final run.
McIntosh earned the win for the Huskies, allowing five hits and no runs over 6 ⅔ innings while striking out nine and walking three.
Ace pitcher Lawson Hare was charged with the loss for AHS, allowing six hits, seven runs — four earned — and walking two across two innings.
Santiago and Britt Farr each collected two hits for the Tigers, and AHS turned three double plays in the game.
For the Tigers’ seniors, the loss closed out careers that left a mark on the program.
“I love these guys, and that’s probably what’s going to stand out the most to me,” senior catcher Ryan Farr said. “It was just really important to me that everybody gave everything they had, and I think everybody did. That just makes me feel really happy with the way things are, so I don’t have any complaints even though we lost.”
Senior first baseman Bryson Sheppard, who joined the program two years ago, reflected on his choice to come to AHS.
“I came here last year not knowing how Auburn would be, and if I were to look back now, I wouldn’t make a different choice,” Sheppard said. “These are some of the greatest teammates I’ve ever been with, and some of the greatest coaches. They’ve always had my back and listened to me with an open heart and open arms.”
