Hartselle sweeps Cullman to advance to third round
May 1—HARTSELLE — Hartselle took care of business Thursday night, sweeping Cullman in the second round of the Class 6A baseball playoffs. The No. 5 Tigers defeated the No.
3 Bearcats 5-4 in a walk-off thriller in Game 1 before dominating them 8-1 in Game 2 to clinch the series. "That first game was so big because I knew whoever lost would have to fight so much adversity because it's hard to get back up after a tough loss like that," Hartselle head coach Brad Phillips said. "We came out in the second game and punched hard and got a second blow in the next inning, and you could tell it deflated them.
"That program (Cullman) is first class and they're a really good team so this is a big win for us. " Hartselle will hit the road next week for the first time this postseason. The Tigers will play the winner of Mountains Brook vs.
Pell City. "We're going to just enjoy having another week together right now, but we spent the first half of our schedule on the road, so we feel like that has prepared us for this," Phillips said. — Hartselle 5, Cullman 4: Cain Falciani lives for the big moments.
Just a few months ago, Falciani's last-second touchdown catch led Hartselle football to a comeback win over Jasper. Fast forward to Thursday night, and Falciani delivered in the clutch again, this time hitting sacrifice fly to give Hartselle's baseball team a walk-off win over Cullman in eight innings. "I feel like I play more focused (when the game is on the line)," Falciani said.