Oxford runs away from Spanish Fort in Game 2 to complete sweep in 6A championship
After just one run separated Oxford and Spanish Fort in the opening game of the Class 6A state championship series, the Yellow Jackets made sure there was no need for dramatics when they finished off a sweep Wednesday afternoon at Jacksonville State University.
Oxford scored three runs in the first inning and built an 11-run lead after four frames before finishing off a 12-3 victory in Game 2 to secure the program's first state title since 2012.
"We just kept pouring it on," Oxford coach Wes Brooks said.
The Yellow Jackets (39-6) got three run-scoring singles in the opening frame, including one from tournament MVP Hayes Harrison. Oxford sent 10 hitters to the plate in the third inning and added five more runs to its lead, including a two-run single from Nick Richardson.
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After Oxford added three more runs in the fourth inning, Spanish Fort had to get on the scoreboard to avoid the 10-run rule calling the game before seven innings. The Toros scored three unearned runs in the inning, all of them coming with two outs, to force the game to continue.
Oxford would not let that momentum build any further though, adding an insurance run in the sixth inning before closing out the game with a three-up, three-down frame in the seventh.
"Family is probably the biggest word that describes this team," Brooks said. "Family and love. And keeping them grounded, they don't get too high and they don't get too low. I think they'd be ready to play for another championship tomorrow if we had another game to play."
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Harrison, who got the win on the mound in Game 1, walked three times and scored three runs to go along with his RBI single in the series-clinching win. Peyton Watts pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and three unearned runs, to get the win in Game 2. R.J. Brooks got the save in Game 1 and pitched the final five outs for Oxford in Game 2 without allowing a runner to reach base.
Trace Adams had a single and RBI in the three-run first-inning then added a double in a five-run third-inning rally to drive in two more runs.