Landon Blackwell fired a 2-hitter as top-ranked Hartselle downed No. 2 Oxford 4-1 to win its second straight to capture the best-of-three Class 6A semifinals series at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium on the Jacksonville State University campus on Thursday.

The Tigers lost Game 1 on Wednesday at Choccolocco Park 10-0 before rebounding to win 5-3 in Game 2 to set up Thursday’s showdown that was originally scheduled for Oxford High School, but moved to JSU’s artificial turf field due to field conditions after Wednesday’s rainstorms and a threat of more rain.

Hartselle (33-9) will play the survivor of the Spanish Fort (28-10) at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (28-11) series that is set to begin with a doubleheader on Friday at 5 and 7:30 p.m. A Game 3, if necessary, will be Saturday at 1 p.m.

Blackwell, who tore his ACL in during football season, kept the defending 6A state champion Yellow Jackets’ offense off balance using a combination of three pitches – both a 2- and 4-seam fastball, curve and changeup.

“I didn’t realize how well I was throwing,” the senior right-hander said. “I looked up and saw that they had only 1 hit. I thought, ‘This can’t be true.’”

The Tigers, who have won nine state championships since 1990 with the latest coming in 2022, jumped out to a fast start. After Asher Doepel walked to open the game, Jo Williamson brought him home with an RBI single to right field.

Oxford (32-12) answered in the bottom of the first as Forrest Heacock slapped an RBI single to left field to bring in designed hitter Judd Syer with what proved to be the only Yellow Jackets run.

“Landon was good today,” Hartselle coach Jake Miles said. “He battled and kept control of the game. He kept them off balance by mixing up his pitches.”

Lawson Williams’ sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning gave Hartselle the lead for good. The Tigers scored runs in the sixth and seventh innings due to Oxford errors.

Oxford’s Tide Gann reached base with an infield single in the bottom of the seventh inning to account for the home team’s second hit.

Williamson went to 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Hartselle offense.

Star of the game: Blackwell gave up an earned run, struck out 6 and allowed 2 hits in 7 innings of work on the mound. He walked 3 Yellow Jackets.

Star of the series: Oxford catcher Heacock had 4 doubles and drove in 8 runs in the three games.

Stats: Hartselle – Left fielder Cole Miles was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Leadoff hitter Doepel walked twice and scored a pair of runs. Designated hitter Brody Leathers and catcher Cam Palahach were both 1-for-2 at the plate. The Tigers did not commit an error. The Tigers left 9 runners on base. Oxford – Hudson Gilman took the loss for the Jackets, giving up 2 earned runs on 4 hits with 4 walks. Heacock had an RBI in the loss. The Yellow Jackets had 2 errors on the day. Oxford stranded 3 runners.

Coachspeak: “This is a gritty, gutsy team who loves each other. We just want to keep playing baseball. No matter what the outcome is next week, this has been a special journey.” – Hartselle’s Miles

Up Next: The Tigers await the winner of Spanish Fort at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, who play for the right to advance to the title series that begins at 11 a.m. on May 16 In Oxford.