BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — As one of the top-ranked baseball teams in the state, Auburn High School looked to start the postseason off hot against Daphne High School.
The No. 5 Tigers (27-11) got off to an ideal start, sweeping the Trojans (18-17) 2-1 and 10-5 at Cimo Field on April 30 in the first round of the 7A playoffs.
For AHS head coach Tommy Carter, the series came down to his team staying evenkeeled and true to themselves.
It proved to be a timely message as the Tigers never panicked or overextended themselves no matter the situation in either game.
“We simply said, ‘Don’t be satisfied because we [won] that first game, and we’ve got to take care of business in the second game,’” Carter said. “We always talk about staying right in the middle as far as emotions, not getting too high, not getting too low. In this case, they didn’t get too low. That just kind of stayed steady and moved on to the next at-bat. We always say one pitch, one inning and one out.”
Across the doubleheader, Bryson Sheppard terrorized DHS by going a combined 4-for-7 with two home runs, three runs and eight RBIs.
After struggling at times early in the season to make his otherwise excellent hitting impact the game, the senior first baseman is now firing on all cylinders.
“If you can’t hit it past them, hit it over them,” Sheppard said of his home run outburst. “My adrenaline was up and my teammates were right there behind me. That’s just it. It’s great to have a great group behind you [that has] confidence in you.”
Game 1
Offense was at a premium in the first game, which began as a back-and-forth pitching and fielding chess match.
Ashton Mosley finally opened the scoring with a line drive RBI single into center field that plated Parker Cranmore from third base and put DHS up 1-0.
In the next inning, Sheppard provided the moment of the game by immediately following Angelo Santiago’s double with a thunderous two-out home run deep into right field that gave the Tigers their 2-1 lead.
From there, Max Autrey guided AHS to a crucial opening game win with stellar pitching over the final two innings.
Autrey was credited with the win in relief for the Tigers, allowing just one hit and striking out three batters in three full innings.
Ryan Parent took a tough loss for the Trojans after allowing four hits and two runs — both earned — while walking one batter and striking out nine in six full innings.
Game 2
In the nightcap, AHS got on the board much quicker as Santiago made a daring dashing home from third after the catcher failed to fully block a wild pitch.
Not to be outdone by himself, Sheppard sent Cimo Field into a frenzy in the top of the second inning with another two-out home run. This time, the slugger truly made it count with Jake Haney, Carter Chambley and Santiago all already on base for the grand slam.
The Tigers’ 5-0 lead did not last long after a bases-loaded walk scored DHS’s Cayden Davis. Jack Blanchard doubled on a hard ground ball into left field and brought Parent and Cranmore home from third and second, respectively, for the Trojans.
However, AHS immediately got two of those runs back. Chambley kicked the fourth inning off by scoring on an error during the attempted throw out at third base, and Sheppard later singled into fielder’s choice near second base to score Wilson Foster from third.
That 7-3 Tigers lead was extended two innings later as Sheppard’s line drive double into left field plated Santiago from second, and Brady Sack got on the stat sheet with his own RBI double during the next at-bat.
In the top of the seventh, Ryan Farr added insult to injury for AHS after his sacrifice fly deep into center field plated Dean Murray from third.
With nothing but pride left to play for, DHS responded with two runs to close the game out. Hayden Spivey ripped an RBI double into center field to score Cranmore from second, and Ashton Mosley followed with a ground ball single that brought Caiden Weinacht home from third.
Lawson Hare took the win for the Tigers, going five full innings while allowing five hits and three runs — all earned — walking five batters and striking out three.
Jack Davidson was charged with the loss for the Trojans. In 3 ⅓ innings, the southpaw gave up three hits, two runs — both earned — walked two batters and struck out two.
