Athens’ championship aspirations remain fully intact following a solid performance on Monday.

The Golden Eagles took down Mortimer Jordan 10-4 at the Class 6A North Regional in Florence before ending the day with a 4-2 win over Buckhorn.

Those two victories put Athens (24-12) in an advantageous position heading into Tuesday, when they’ll play Hartselle at 1:45 p.m. for a spot in the state tournament.

West Limestone, meanwhile, lost to Hamilton in the first round of the Class 4A North Regional before bouncing back with a 10-4 triumph over Priceville to keep its season alive.

The Wildcats, who now need three straight wins to advance to the state tournament, will play West Morgan on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

See below for capsules.

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Class 6A

No. 5 Athens 10, Mortimer Jordan 4

The Golden Eagles struck early against the Blue Devils, collecting five runs in the first inning to race out to a big lead in Monday’s first-round game.

Lily Lowery had a two-run double, Charlie Barnes added a two-run triple and Carly Ennis picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice to build some quick momentum.

Mortimer Jordan, though, plated four runs — all coming with two outs — in the second frame to put the pressure back on Athens.  

No problem.

Ennis soon scored on a catcher’s interference, then later recorded an RBI single to make it 7-4. 

Lowery’s RBI single and Morgan Stiles’ two-run triple produced insurance runs down the stretch.

Kara Crews and Ennis led Athens with three hits apiece, while Barnes, Lowery, Stiles and Amaya Green each had two. Carly Townsend also pitched well, scattering seven hits in seven innings of work inside the circle.

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No. 5 Athens 4, Buckhorn 2

The Golden Eagles trailed in the third inning of Monday’s outing but soon seized control.

Stiles tied the tilt with an RBI triple and later came around to score on Lowery’s RBI single to put Athens ahead 2-1. Barnes’ two-run single in the fifth inning pushed the lead to 4-1 and Lowery’s quality pitching (5 1/3 innings, one earned run) took care of the rest.

Jessica Waggoner (two), Caitlyn Tedford, Stiles, Crews, Barnes and Lowery each recorded hits for the Golden Eagles.

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Class 4A

No. 7 Hamilton 9, No. 5 West Limestone 4

The Wildcats faced a five-run deficit by the fourth inning of Monday’s opening-round matchup against the Aggies before RBI singles by Bella Birdsong, Addie Wallace, Lilly Bethune and Lilee Legg eventually trimmed Hamilton’s lead to 5-4.

Unfortunately for West Limestone, though, the Aggies registered four insurance runs in their final at-bats in the seventh inning to pull away and send the Wildcats to the loser’s bracket.

Aubrey Bethune added a sixth-inning double to round out the offensive contributions.

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No. 5 West Limestone 10, Priceville 4

The Wildcats reeled off 16 hits to beat the Bulldogs on Monday and keep their season alive.

West Limestone (38-10-3) plated two runs in the first inning on RBI singles by Lilly Bethune and Lilee Legg before taking control of the matchup with a six-run second that featured run-scoring hits by Lilee Legg, Lilly Bethune and JuliAnn Kyle.

Lilly Bethune continued her hot hitting later in the game with an RBI double and solo home run.

She finished 4-for-4 with four RBIs. Kyle added three hits, while Lilee Legg, Aubrey Bethune, Ella Yarbrough and Lucee Legg registered two hits apiece. Morgan Stiles had one hit to round out the offensive contributions.