Top-ranked Hartselle rolled into the Class 6A state semifinals on the strength of a pair of strong pitching performances against Athens at home on Thursday, including a no-hitter by Jace Meadows in the opener.

The Tigers swept the doubleheader 1-0 and 4-0 to improve to 31-8 on the season and will meet the winner of the Mountain Brook-Oxford series next week with a berth in the state championship series on the line. Oxford won Game 1 of the best-of-three series at home 6-5 while Game 2 went to Mountain Brook 4-2. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m. at Oxford.

Meadows struck out 4 Athens hitters and walked 2 in his Game 1 gem – the first no-hitter of the year for Hartselle. The junior right-hander threw 58 strikes in 91 pitches and faced 24 batters in the 7-inning win.

Hartselle overcame 2 errors and left 5 runners on base while Athens was clean in the field and stranded three runners.

Athens senior righty Grayson Hays was saddled with the loss, despite allowing just 4 hits over 6 innings. The run he gave up – in the bottom of the second inning – was earned. He struck out 3 and walked 3.

Jo Williamson was 1-for-3 for the winners with a double. Asher Doepel was 1-for-1 with an RBI, Andrew Coleman went 1-for-2 and Cade Miles had the other hit in 3 at-bats. Lawson Williams scored Hartselle’s lone run.

In Game 2, senior right-hander Nic Chumley shut out the Golden Eagles on 3 hits in 7 innings. He struck out 1 and walked 2.

Leadoff hitter Brody Leathers went 2-for-4 with a run scored for Hartselle. Williamson was 1-for-1 with a double and 2 runs scored. Williams drove in 2 runs with a pair of sacrifice flies. Peyton Steele was 1-for-4 with a double and Cam Palahach drove in a run with a sacrifice.

Walker Fleming, Riley Miller and Jaylen Malone had the hits for Athens (25-14) – all singles.

The Eagles sent four pitchers to the mound with starter Hudson Marks taking the loss, giving up 3 earned runs on 1 hit with a strikeout and 3 walks in 2.1 innings. Jaret Johnson worked the next 2.2 innings, allowing an earned run on 3 hits. Neither Connor Stiles nor Nash Hargrave allowed any hits or runs as they worked an inning each. Stiles struck out 1 and walked 2 with Hargrave getting a strikeout and allowing a walk.

Athens had 3 errors in the loss to 2 for the Tigers. Hartselle left 8 runners on base while Athens left 5.

Hartselle, a 3-2 winner over Athens in the only regular-season meeting between the two teams on March 18, has won 12 of its past 13 games. The loss came in Game 2 of the Tigers’ second-round 2-1 series win at Pell City.