The Briarwood Christian baseball team may have won the first game of a scheduled double-header to open the Class 6A playoffs, but Mother Nature was the ultimate victor in forcing a weather delay that eventually resulted in the second game being called after more than an hour of waiting.

The eighth-ranked Lions earned a 13-3 win to open the double-header and led 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 2 when a lightning delay was called in Friday’s first-round matchup at Jay D. Kynerd Field in Birmingham.

“The kids battled and had great at-bats, they really did,” Briarwood Christian coach Steve Renfroe said. “The kid they (Baldwin County) threw is so tough but our kids did a great job of getting good pitches to hit and it paid off.”

Following more than an hour of delays, the AHSAA and the Alabama Umpires Association agreed to call the game complete. Briarwood Christian now carries a 21-6 record into next week’s second-round series at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa.

In Game 1, the Lions surged ahead 3-0 in the first inning with a two-run homer from Will Clark, scoring lead-off batter Sam Hoff, and an RBI single by catcher Andrew McAdams. Baldwin County responded with a three-run inning in the second frame and tied the game on a two-run single by Quincy Walters.

Briarwood regained the lead in the bottom half of the second, Hoff scoring on an error, and added three runs in the fourth on an RBI double from Jake Souders and RBI singles from Samuel Burr and Casen Heaps.

“We played great defense,” Renfroe said. “We turned two huge double-plays. That’s what really stuck out to me. In the fourth inning, Drake really got his rhythm and did well.”

The Lions were able to make short work of Baldwin County in the sixth inning with six runs to complete a mercy-rule victory. The first four batters reached base safely, McAdams earning a walk to bring home Brady Waugh, and Heaps added to the total with a sac fly. Parker Daniels had an RBI single to bring home Burr and Hoff grabbed a two-run single to set up the final run of the game.

A walk issued to Clark finished the order and a walk-off single from Waugh brought Jackson Adams home for the final run.

Waugh was 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs in the first game, followed by Souders, who went 2-of-2 with a single, double, two RBIs and three runs. Southern Miss signee Drake Meeks earned the win for the Lions, allowing three runs off four hits and issuing six walks and six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings of work.

In Game 2, Briarwood got on the board first in the top half of the third frame, scoring on a two-run homer from Waugh, and added to their run total in the sixth with McAdams scoring off an error. Baldwin County cut the lead to 2-1 in the fifth, scoring on a sac fly, but was facing a 0-2 count with two outs in the bottom of the sixth when the initial delay was called.

At the time of the delay, Briarwood pitcher and University of Alabama signee Jonathan Stevens was working a no-hitter, having allowed a single run while issuing seven walks and six strikeouts, and is credited with the win and the no-hitter — given that the senior pitcher worked a full and complete five innings.