Mountain Brook’s Gabe Young hit a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning as the ninth-ranked Spartans rallied to secure a double-header sweep of Buckhorn, 3-0 and 5-4, in Thursday’s Class 6A first-round matchup in Mountain Brook.

“The pressure was on and that’s where I live,” said Young, a Jacksonville State signee. “That’s where I thrive at.”

The ninth-ranked Spartans will carry a 22-10 record into the second round of the playoffs.

“Buckhorn puts a lot of pressure on you with the hitters they have in the lineup and they got on us in that one inning,” Mountain Brook coach Lee Gann said. “We walked a few guys we shouldn’t have walked, gave them a chance to score some runs and that’s what playoff teams do. Our guys responded really well in the last inning and we got the win.”

In the first game, Mountain Brook took a 2-0 lead at the end of the first, scoring on an RBI single from Charlie Berryman and a strikeout by Caleb Barnett that brought Young home for the second run of the inning.

Samford commit John Robicheaux adding the final run in the fifth inning, stealing home following his own leadoff triple, and earned the win on the mound as well. He threw a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits, walking three batters and securing three strikeouts.

“I tell you, he was throwing mighty big,” Gann said. “He was keeping them off-balance and gave us our best chance to win.”

Buckhorn’s Chase Ambrose was tagged with the Game 1 loss, allowing three runs off six hits and totaling seven strikeouts.

In Game 2, University of Alabama commitment Caleb Barnett got the start on the bump for the Spartans, but was chased after 3.2 innings, allowing four runs off three hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

Mountain Brook took the first lead of the game in the third, scoring on a two-RBI inside-the-park home run by Berryman – the 31st home run for the Spartans this season and the second inside-the- park homer.

“We had a runner on, and I was just trying to move him over a base,” Berryman said. “Hit a ball well on 2-0, looking for one spot, and I see that the center fielder can’t see it. I see Coach waving me on at second and turned on another gear.”

The Bucks responded in the fourth inning, taking a 4-2 lead on two-run singles from Jack Rupe and Jack Rosenblum, but had only two base runners in the final three innings.

Mountain Brook pinch-hitter Grayson Long and center fielder Hunter Keller walked to open the final inning. A strikeout and another walk to load the bases followed and Young belted a two-run single on a line drive to bring home Long for the tying run and Keller for the go-ahead score.

“It was a great feeling,” Young said. “My entire season was working up to this and I was ready for it.”

Ford Moffatt came on the mound for the Spartans in the sixth inning, earning the win with two strikeouts and no hits, and Kenneth Diddell got the save in allowing a single hit in the seventh.