The Trojans faced off against top ranked Appalachian High School out of Oneonta, Ala., at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 28. They lost the first game 5-1, and the second game was ongoing as of press time.

Last Friday and Saturday, April 21 and 22, Athens Bible School played against Hubbertville High School in the first round of the AHSAA State Playoffs. The first game of the best of three series was an intense one. It was a back-and-forth game with leads being held by each team during the game. ABS’s starting pitcher, senior Walker Brand, pitched 5 innings and threw 110 pitches before being replaced by junior Ethan Johnson. Both Athens Bible and Hubbertville never gave up and continued to fight. In the bottom of the 7th inning the game was tied, and ABS had the opportunity to walk the game off. ABS ended up leaving runners on 2nd and 3rd when getting the last out of the inning to send the game into extra innings with a score of 11-11. Hubbertville didn’t score in the top of the 8th, so ABS had the opportunity again to win in the bottom of the 8th inning. Athens Bible struggled to get any runners across the plate and again left runners on base, having the bases loaded when getting the third out. In the top of the 9th inning Hubbertville broke the tie by having two runners cross the plate to take the 13-11 lead. ABS tried but ended up getting three outs in the bottom of the 9th before scoring a single run, and because of this Hubbertville took game one of the series in extra innings with a final score of 13-11.

In the second game of the series, Athens Bible was now the away team, and they jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Sophomore Luke McElyea started at pitcher for Athens Bible and had a great outing. He ended up throwing 92 pitches through 5 innings, only giving up 1 run during the whole game. ABS’s bats came alive during the second game and took a commanding lead, as the Trojans ended up winning the second game 14-1. The Trojans had a huge second game win as they run-ruled Hubbertville in 5 innings to split the first day and force a game three on Saturday.

Emotions and tensions were high going into the “winner take all” third game. Both teams started eighth grade pitchers, and they faced off on the big stage of the state playoffs. Both Athens Bible and Hubbertville struggled against the starting pitchers, as ABS didn’t have a run cross the plate until the 4th inning and Hubbertville didn’t record their first hit till the 4th inning. After that first run, ABS ended up scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the 4th to take a 4-0 lead. Athens Bible’s starting pitcher, 8th grader Luke Murrell, had an outstanding appearance, as he pitched as long as he could within his overall pitch count. He hit his 85 pitch limit with only two outs left in the game. He went 6.1 innings, giving up no runs, allowing 2 hits, and ending with 12 strikeouts. Sophomore AJ Bradford came in to relieve Murrell and to close out the game. After giving up back-to-back doubles, Bradford settled into his job as the closing pitcher. The last out of the game was a pop up caught by second baseman Chandler James with a final score of 4-1.

After winning game three of the series, Athens Bible clinched a spot in the second round of the AHSAA state playoffs.