On the baseball field Tuesday, Deshler pitcher Price Thornton dazzled with 6 innings of 2-hit baseball in a Class 4A state finals matchup against Bibb County.

Off the baseball field, his week of preparation was met with adversity.

Just 6 days before the Tigers’ trip to the state finals, Thornton’s dad had a seizure and was sent to UAB after Deshler’s semifinal sweep of Etowah.

“He’s doing a lot better today,” Thornton said of his dad on Tuesday. “I think he got to watch it on TV, so I hope he’s proud.”

Mission accomplished.

Thornton’s 6-inning, 2-hit performance on the mound lifted Class 4A No. 5 Deshler to a 2-1 victory over No. 6 Bibb County, giving the Tigers a 1-0 series lead in the 4A finals.

Game 2 will begin on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Jacksonville State University.

“This man’s been by himself, all week you would’ve never known it,” Deshler coach Justin Cantrell said of Thornton. “He came to work every single day and got after it. From the outside, nobody has a clue what this guy’s been through. He’s been at home by himself, his sister’s been having to take care of him, he’s been at some of our coaches’ houses. 

“This guy went out there with a lot of adversity that nobody really sees and you would’ve never known it. He went out there and competed for six innings and got after it.”

The victory for Thornton came after not throwing in the semifinal sweep; his last appearance came in Game 1 of a quarterfinal series against Haleyville.

Garrett Reid picked up the save for Deshler, striking out 2 batters in the seventh inning of the matchup.

“It was great to be out there,” Thornton said of the matchup. “We had a great environment and my job is to attack the zone; these guys made plays behind me, so it was really awesome.”

On the other side of the matchup, Bibb County starter Macain McMillan pitched an impressive game. He pitched a complete game in the close loss, allowing 5 hits and no earned runs (2 unearned) while walking 2 and striking out 3.

“We knew going into that game Bibb had really good arms, comparable to us, so runs were going to be at a premium,” Cantrell said.

Bibb County’s lone run was scored on an error following a pop out in the bottom of the first, which scored Jordan Leverette.

Deshler also scored its first run on an error with a score from Brady McKinney in the fourth inning, with a single from Reid scoring George Youngblood one inning later making it a 2-1 ballgame.

With a victory on Wednesday, Deshler would clinch the program’s first state baseball championship; Bibb County would have to win two straight for a title, which would be the program’s second title and first since 2001.

“The job’s not finished,” Cantrell said. “It’s good to get one, but we came here for two. If you get satisfied after one win, I mean, it’s a big win and it’s a tight ball game, but if you get satisfied after that, you’re going to go home empty-handed. 

“Stay the course, stay focused. We’ve been here before; we’ve got to win two, though.”