Bryson Goff tossed a one-hitter, Evan Hilliard a three-hitter and Ben Buxton delivered a walk-off RBI single in Game 3 as Saraland swept a three-game Class 6A, Area 1 series from Faith Academy to seal a baseball playoff berth on Thursday and Friday nights.

“Our coaching staff challenged our team to get our edge back, and I was excited about their attitude, effort and how they played with an edge,” Saraland coach Brett Boutwell said. “There is still stuff we have to clean up and do better.”

The Spartans improved to 19-7 overall, 6-0 in area play and will host Orange Beach on Monday and travel to the Makos on Saturday.

The Rams host Gulf Shores on Tuesday, travel to Mims Park on Thursday to begin an area series with Murphy and conclude it with a home doubleheader on Friday.

Goff (4-1) fanned 13 batters with only two walks in a road win on Thursday night as Saraland posted a 3-0 shutout.

Brooks Womble was 2-for-4 with a double, Camron Laffitte had an RBI and two runs scored and Cam Warren scored for the Spartans.

Brody Lambert went 1-for-3 at the plate, while Riley Hall gave up three hits and three walks with six strikeouts in six innings in the loss for the Rams.

In Friday’s opener, Hilliard (5-2) struck out seven batters while scattering three hits and two walks in seven innings to take the pitching win in a 3-2 victory.

Faith loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with Lambert scoring on an RBI single by Hall and Gavin Prewitt scoring on a wild pitch, but Hilliard caught a pop-up and then threw to third base for a game-ending double play to seal the win.

Clint Smith hit a solo home run, Warren added a double and an RBI and Mike Smith a sacrifice for the Spartans.

Josh Gaffney scattered six hits and two walks with three strikeouts in the loss.

In the nightcap, Faith scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning to go up 5-2, only two see Saraland rally with four runs in the bottom of the seventh — keyed by a two-run triple by Womble — to steal a 6-5 victory,

Santae McWilliams was 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI, Womble 1-for-3 with a run and two RBIs, Buxton 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI and Fuller Chisholm added a run and an RBI for the Spartans.

Cooper Henson (2-0) picked up the win in closing the final 1.2 innings, giving up one run with one strikeout.

Reliever Connor Robinson gave up four runs off two hits and three walks — one intentional — with two strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning to absorb the loss.

Robinson was 2-for-4 at the plate, while Carson Ratliff, Brayden Slay, Prewitt, Hall and Gaffney each scored a run for Faith.

— Robert Lanier

Crooms pitches Bayshore to win

Streed Crooms struck out 16 in six innings as Class 2A No. 2 Bayshore Christian shut out St. Luke’s 3-0 on Friday.

Riley Malone struck out three in the seventh to get the save.

Mikael Bryant, Crooms and Jack Malone drove in Bayshore’s three runs, and they each had singles for Bayshore.

Chaz Evans pitched six innings and only gave up three runs on three hits.

Bayshore hosts Class 4A No. 1 Bayside Academy on Tuesday at Coastal Church at 4 p.m.

Gulf Shores wins area title again

Class 5A No. 7 Gulf Shores went 4-0 last week, clinching the Area 1 title in the process.

It’s the third straight area championship for Chris Jacks’ team, who have won 15 straight area games in the last two seasons. The Dolphins are 25-1 in area play in the last four seasons.

The Dolphins started the week off by beating Mary G Montgomery 3-1. Freshman Jacob O’Bryan was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Dom Maldet had an RBI double. Jackson Beck, Luke Stephens and Joseph Stephens shut down MGM on the mound.

On Thursday, Gulf Shores opened an important area series with an 8-6 win over Elberta. Junior Conner Gehr (4-1) got the win on the mound, going 6.1 innings and allowing seven hits and five runs. Joseph Stephens got his third save on the year. Gehr also led the Dolphins at the plate, going 3-for-4, with a double and four RBIs. Junior Joesph Stephens and senior Reid Achimon also had two hits apiece.

The Dolphins won Game 2 13-1. Maldet hit a two-run homer in the first inning. Junior Alex Rippy (3-4) went the distance on the mound, allowing five hits and a run in five innings. Joseph Stephens, Gehr, Maldet and Keaton Edmonds all had two hits.

Gulf Shores slugged its way to a 17-14 win in the finale. Joseph Stephens got his third save of the week. Gehr was 4-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base. Mac Anderson had three hits, including a three-run triple. He finished with four RBIs. Achimon had three hits and Maldet and Price Stephens had two each.

Gulf Shores improved to 20-10 overall.

Daphne sweeps Foley

Daphne swept a doubleheader from Foley late last week to improve to 14-12 overall and improve to 3-0 in area play.

The Trojans won the first game 4-2. Mason Owens led the way on the mound, pitching 5.2 innings and giving up two runs on two hits. Owens also contributed at the plate with two hits. Parker Lomax and Cooper Nix were both had RBIs.

Game 2 resulted in an 8-2 Daphne win. Lomax hit a two-run homer in the third inning. Jay Davidson also had an RBI and three Daphne pitchers combined to strike out 15.

Daphne will host Elizabeth Town, Ky., on Friday and travel to Saraland on Saturday.

MGM rolls past Davidson

Mary G. Montgomery won three games from Davidson over the weekend.

The Vikings won 2-1, 8-0 and 16-4.

In the opener, Cody Strickhausen pitched a complete game, allowing one run and one hit. Strickhausen struck out 14 out of 24 batters faced. Bryce Fick accounted for Davidson’s only run with a solo home run in the sixth. MGM pinch hitter Camdem West knocked in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth. Waltman and Justin Friend each had a pair of hits for the Vikings in the victory. Strickhausen struck out two of the final three batters to secure the victory.

In the second game shutout, the Vikings (11-10) scored six runs in the second inning, sending 10 batters to the plate. Kaden Harrell had a two-out, three-run double for the big blow. Justin Friend was the winning pitcher.

In the finale, Anderson Murray drove in five runs on three hits. MGM leadoff batter Bret Stevens reached base five times, driving in three runs. Garrett Feltman finished with three hits and was a triple shy of the cycle. Feltman’s solo home run in the sixth inning was the Vikings lone home run of the three- game series. Kenard Knight hit a two-run homer for Davidson. The 17 runs and 19 hits were season highs for MGM.

The Vikings will play Baker in a three-game series Friday and Saturday. Davidson (7-18) will play Alma Bryant on Wednesday and Thursday.

— John Vella

SOFTBALL

Sheffield pitches Satsuma to 2 wins

Belle Sheffield got the win in both teams as Satsuma defeated Leroy 7-1 and Spanish Fort 1-0.

In the win over the Bears, Madison Medley hit her third home run of the week and went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Ashleigh Parker had two RBIs as well to lead the Gators.

In the win over Spanish Fort, Sheffield improved to 17-2. A.J. Bonds doubled and had the lone RBI of the game for either team. Bralee Byrd added two hits.

Satsuma (29-9) is off for Spring Break and returns to action on April 18 for an area game against Jackson.

Central knocks off ranked teams

In a 24-hour period beginning Thursday night, the No. 7 ranked Central High team defeated No. 1 ranked Hewitt-Trussville 12-9, No. 5 ranked Spain Park 5-4 and No. 4 ranked Thompson 5-3 in extra innings.

Central went 6-0 this week with a pair of victories over Smiths Station, Russellville and the three above teams.

Central is 24-5-1 overall. According to Central coach Mitchell Holt, it was “absolutely” the best week in the history of Central fastpitch softball.

— Mark Clark

Baldwin County tops Daphne, Faith

Madilyn Byrd got the win as Baldwin County edged Daphne 4-3.

She struck out eight and walked one, allowing four hits.

Addison Roberts drove in the winning run in the bottom of the sixth.

The Tigers also defeated Faith 7-2 in the Saraland tournament, using a five-run third inning. Emma Weatherford had a two-run double and Addison Roberts and Karsyn Bennett had RBI doubles.

The Rams got on the board with a two-out home run by Lillie Stagner in the first inning. Faith only managed one hit the rest of the game, a two-out single in the third inning by Mylee Stagner.

The Tigers pounded out 11 hits, including a solo home run by Kierra Means in the fifth inning. Ryann Wallace, Barnett, Aspen Gerald and Roberts all collected multiple hits for Baldwin County.

Madilyn Byrd picked up the victory in the circle for the Tigers, giving up three hits and striking out 12 of the 19 batters.

— John Vella

Saraland shuts out Gulf Shores

Gracie Dees pitched five innings of shutout softball, and Bre Hughes provided the offense as Class 6A No. 9 Saraland defeated Gulf Shores 7-0 Friday in the Saraland tournament.

Dees held the Dolphins to just three hits, a pair of singles and one extra base hit — a double in the second inning by Anna-Leigh Price. Dees retired eight of the last nine batters to secure the shutout.

ughes led off the bottom of the first, homering over the right field fence on the 11th pitch of the at bat. Hughes collected three hits total, scoring two runs. Olivia Ray reached base three times, scoring a pair of runs for Saraland.

— John Vella

Tori Taylor leads Mobile Christian

Tori Taylor pitched the Class 4A No. 8 Leopards to a 5-1 win over the 1A No. 3 Brantley Bulldogs on Friday in the Saraland tournament. Taylor pitched a complete game, striking out five and giving up one run allowing a pair of singles. Taylor, the Leopards ace, improved to 15-3 on the season, lowering her era to 1.30.

Hailey Padgett led the Leopards at the plate with two hits and an RBI. Padgett leads the team with .436 average. Kyndall Waller, Camryn Lawson and Kenndy Holifield also knocked in runs for Mobile Christian.

Mobile Christian sent nine batters to the plate, scoring three runs in the sixth inning to break open a 2-0 game.

Kaylee Navarre took the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs.

— John Vella

TRACK AND FIELD

MA girls, boys place at Spain Park

The Montgomery Academy girls team placed fifth overall in the Spain Park track meet over the weekend with the boys placing seventh.

Top scorers for the girls were Isabella Johnson (first shot put, third discus, fifth javelin) and Sarah Elizabeth Casey (first high jump, sixth 300-meter hurdles). To scorer for the boys was Eli Jernigan (fourth 400-meter).

EDITOR’S NOTE: To submit highlights for the spring roundup, coaches should email results to [email protected] or [email protected]. Roundups are posted each Monday and Friday during the season.