Brady Cavanaugh pitched six strong innings as Enterprise shut out Mary G. Montgomery 2-0 on Saturday in the deciding Game 3 of their Class 7A first-round playoff series.

The Wildcats (22-12) will play reigning 7A champion Central-Phenix City in the second round.

Cavanaugh struck out six and gave up four hits, all singles. He escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first inning and another bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning.

MGM also left two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, Austin Chappell recorded the final two outs to close out the victory for the Wildcats. Brody Tuinder had two of the four hits for the Vikings.

Drew Shiver walked with the bases loaded in the third inning, driving home Talmadge Sessions. Shiver scored in the sixth inning on a Cayden Boutwell single. Shiver reached base five times in the series, scoring a pair of runs.

Justin Freind pitched seven innings, striking out five for the Vikings.

Mary Montgomery concludes its season at 17-14.

— John Vella

Vestavia Hills 7, Sparkman 2

Vestavia Hills used a pair of home runs and a strong pitching performance to down Sparkman in Game 3 action.

Hudson Walburn belted a two-run homer in the first inning and John Paul Head added a three-run shot in the third as the Rebels surged to a 5-0 lead.

Starter Jable Ramey scattered four hits and allowed an earned run while striking out four and walking one in the complete-game victory.

Head was 2-for-4 – he added a double to go along with the homer – with two runs and three RBIs while Christopher Johnston had two hits and an RBI.

Evan Nelson had two hits and an RBI to lead Sparkman.

Fourth-ranked Vestavia Hills (28-9) plays third-ranked Spain Park (28-7) in Round 2 action.

Bob Jones 10, Chelsea 2

Nate Mayfield homered and drove in four runs on Saturday as No. 5 Bob Jones rolled past Chelsea in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

The Patriots (35-10) will play No. 1 Thompson in the second round next week.

Zack Johnson also homered and drove in four for Bob Jones. Aiden Doyle was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.

Braden Booth went the distance to get the victory. He allowed two runs on two hits and struck out six. Bryson Mormon, the first of four Chelsea pitchers, took the loss.

Jackson Morgan homered for the Hornets (20-20).

CLASS 6A

Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 4, Briarwood 3

Unranked Hillcrest built a three-run lead then held off eighth-ranked Briarwood’s seventh inning rally for the 4-3 victory in the deciding Game 3 in Tuscaloosa.

Trailing 4-1, Briarwood loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning when Mason Booth relieved Evan Williams on the mound.

A groundout by Brady Waugh for the first out scored Sam Hoff and Casen Heaps’ RBI line drive sent Will Clark home, but Booth coaxed a fly ball to right for the final out.

Briarwood scored first on a bases-loaded walk to Samuel Burr in the first inning, but Hillcrest tied it 1-all in the third on a sacrifice fly by Jameson Farley and took the lead for good on a Noah Latham flyout.

Evan Lightsey doubled home a run in the sixth and Rhett Turnipseed’s RBI single gave the Patriots all the runs they needed at 4-1, setting up the final inning.

Lightsey was 2-for-3 with a run and RBI while Turnipseed was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI and starting pitcher Evan Williams had two hits, including a triple.

Williams surrendered five hits and three runs with five strikeouts before giving way to Booth.

Clark had a hit and scored two runs for Briarwood while Waugh, Heaps and Burr all had a hit and RBI.

Hillcrest will play Stanhope Elmore in Round 3 action.

CLASS 5A

Arab 6, Alexandria 5

Fourth-ranked Arab scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on Dakota NeSmith’s bases-clearing double and eliminated No. 1 Alexandria in Game 3 of their series.

JD Hall homered and drove in two for the Knights. NeSmith also got the win, pitching the final 3.2 innings and allowing two runs – neither earned – on two hits. He struck out six.

Arab will play rival Boaz in the quarterfinals next week. The Pirates beat Madison Academy 10-0 on Saturday.

Demopolis 9, Shelby County 4

Demopolis overcame one-run deficit with five runs in the fifth inning on the way to downing Shelby County in Game 3 action in Columbiana.

A two-run double by Reed Schumacher gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead while a two-run single by Coleman Fuqua and RBI-single by Kevin McElroy accounted for a 6-2 Demopolis lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

McElory was 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs while Fuqua had two hits and three RBIs.

Starter McElroy along with relievers Schumacher and Josh Holley gave up six hits and two earned runs.

Austin Wilson was 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Shelby County.

Demopolis plays St. Paul’s in Round 3.

CLASS 4A

Priceville 4, Cordova 3

Top-ranked Priceville scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning and held on to beat Cordova in Game 3 of their Class 4A playoff series.

The Bulldogs (29-5) will face St. John Paul II in the quarterfinals next week.

Priceville trailed 3-2 entering the seventh. Zachary Chaney’s triple scored Ty Parker to tie the game. Chaney scored on Jackson Prickett’s one-out sacrifice fly to centerfield. Colman Gann pitched the final two innings to get the win for Priceville.

Prickett and Robert Munive each had two hits.

Joseph Howell had two hits for Cordova. Cody Headrick went the distance and took the loss on the mound. He allowed six hits and struck out six.

Bayside Academy 10, Bibb County 5

Josh Gunther and Carson Joyner both homered Saturday as No. 3 Bayside Academy defeated No. 2 Bibb County in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.

Bayside (22-9) advances to play American Christian in the quarterfinals next week.

Joyner finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. Gunther was 2-for-4 with two walks and two RBIs. Teague Broadhead also drove in two runs.

Broadhead pitched the first four innings to get the win. He allowed three runs on three hits and struck out six. He walked five. Gatlin Pitts pitched the final three innings, allowing two runs on five hits.

Daniel Stringfellow took the loss for Bibb County (25-11). Canyon Kornegay drove in three runs. John Downs, Chris Billingsley and Bodie Giddens each had two hits.

CLASS 2A

Pike Liberal Arts 7, Bayshore Christian 0

KC Bradford and John Lott drove in two runs each and Pike Liberal Arts upset top-ranked Bayshore Christian 7-0 in Game 3 of the Class 2A second-round series on Saturday.

The Patriots (22-12) will face Ariton in the quarterfinals. Bayshore finished 22-6. The Eagles were in their first year in Class 2A after winning back-to-back 1A championships.

KC Bradford was 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. Lott and Levi DeBoer also had two hits and Cole Garrott was 3-for-4 with two runs scored for Pike. Will Rice pitched the first 3.1 innings, limiting Bayshore to two hits. Bradford pitched the final 3.2 innings, striking out five.

Mikael Bryant took the loss for Bayshore, giving up seven runs – five earned – on 12 hits in 5.1 innings. Nate Crooms got the final two outs.

Cole Dean was 3-for-4 for Bayshore. Bryant had the Eagles’ only other hit.

St. Luke’s 11, Wicksburg 6

St. Luke’s scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and held on to eliminate Wicksburg in Game 3 of their best-of-three series.

The Wildcats (16-15) will now face perennial state title contender G.W. Long in the quarterfinals.

Jeremy Menhennett, Will Spivey, Jackson Tapscott and Cooper Frampton drove in two runs each for St. Luke’s. Kyle Eddington was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Jake Neutze was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, two walks and an RBI.

Frampton pitched the first five innings to get the win. He allowed five hits and four runs. Menhennett pitched the final two innings.

Maddox Burkhardt drove in two runs for Wicksburg. Gabe Glover gave up eight runs – six earned – on four hits in just a third of an inning.

This post will be updated