The Lindsay Lane Christian Lions opened the first round of the baseball playoffs with back to back wins Friday against the Shoals Christian Flame at Shoals Christian High School. A dominant pitching performance by LLCA’s Ray Anderson in game one resulted in a 10-0 victory. In game two, while a much more competitive game, the Lions were able to pull out a 6-4 win with Anderson coming in to close the game out in the seventh and send the team into the second round.

The Lions got out to a quick, commanding lead in the first game in the bottom of the first to take the lead that would never be in question due to Anderson’s job on the mound. After LLCA’s Ben Frasier reached on an error to lead off the frame, Micah Perkins drove him in on an RBI single. Sam Hogue followed that up with a two-run blast over the left field fence to give the Lions a 3-0 lead. The Lions weren’t done, as they added three more runs on a two-run single by Jackson Carter and Carter coming around to score in Aidan Cook’s at-bat on an error.

The Lions got two more runs in the second with another two-run single by Carter, who finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Frasier crossed home plate once again after scoring on an error in Hogue’s at-bat to score LLCA’s ninth run in just three innings.

Frasier got the 10th and final run for the Lions in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Cook on an RBI single.

The Lions finished with nine hits. Perkins went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Hogue went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Cook, Anderson and Morrison each had one hit, while Frasier went 1-for-3 with one RBI.

Anderson only allowed three hits in his five innings of work. He had one walk with eight strikeouts.

Anderson is really getting in his groove right now. He was hard to hit today,” LLCA head coach Charles Morrison said.

In game two, LLCA got out to another quick lead early in the game scoring four runs in the top half of the second inning. Anderson got the first RBI of the game for the Lions as he singled to left field, scoring Morrison. After a fly out by Carter, Cook scored Anderson on an RBI single on a hard ground ball toward first. The final two runs for the Lions came around to score in the inning on a passed ball and an error by Shoals Christian.

The Flame cut into the Lions lead in the third with a three-run inning.

The score was still 4-3 in top of the seventh before the Lions increased their lead by two on Carter’s third two-run single on the day. The Flame added one in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single, but Anderson, who pitched a stellar first game, came on in relief of Perkins and struck out the side, ending the game and advancing the Lions to the second round of the playoffs.

“Overall, Friday was a great start to the playoffs in both games,” Charles Morrison said. “We are excited about advancing and we are looking forward to playing in the next round.”

The Lions finished with six hits in game two. Max Morrison went 2-for-4. Anderson went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one walk. Carter, who had a total of six RBIs in two games, went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Cook had one hit.

Perkins had nine strikeouts in his six innings of work. He allowed seven hits and four earned runs. He also had five walks in his outing. Anderson pitched one inning, striking out three.

Game one: Ardmore Tigers 5, Guntersville Wildcats 0

Ardmore finished five runs on just four hits. Nathan Embrey went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Wesley Tucker had one hit in three plate appearances with one RBI. Carter Smith had one hit. Mason Billions had one RBI. Cameron Cheatham, who struck out 17 in a previous game earlier in the season, was one shy of that in this game. He struck out 16 of the 21 batters he faced, allowing just one hit and three walks.

Game two: Ardmore 6, Guntersvile 5

An extra-inning walk-off groundout by Billions sealed the Tigers 6-5 victory over the Wildcats in the second game. Ardmore had nine hits. Luke Hogan led the Tigers with three hits and four RBIs. Cheatham and Billions each had one RBI. Drew Daly had two hits. Embry, Tucker, Chris Allen and Jackson Campbell all had one hit apiece. Hogan started on the mound in the second game for the Tigers. He went 6 2/3 allowing two hits and four runs(three earned). He had four walks with 12 strikeouts. Bryce Camp pitched 2 1/3, striking out three with two walks. Only one unearned run crossed home plate while he was on the mound.

Game one: West Limestone Wildcats 11, Priceville Bulldogs 4

Three players for the Wildcats finished with at least two hits. Ryan Britt went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Braxton Griffin had two hits with two RBIs. Cooper Phillips finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and one walk. Colin Patterson had a two-run single in the bottom of the second. Brody White went 1-for-3 with one RBI. River Helms had one hit and Devin Carter had one RBI. The Wildcats used four pitchers in game one with Patterson getting the start. He had six strikeouts in his four innings with only one hit and one walk allowed.

Game two: West Limestone 6, Priceville 2

The Wildcats added eight hits in game two, one shy of their game one hit total. Thorne Slaton went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Griffin also had two hits with one RBI. Patterson went 1-for-4 with one RBI. Britt had one hit with one RBI. Helms and Ian Burroughs each had one hit. Britt started the game for the Wildcats, going four innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks. He finished with three strikeouts. Patterson, who came in for relief of Logan Martin after Britt’s outing, struck out four in his 2 1/3 innings of work. He walked one.

”On the mound, Colin (Patterson) being able to start game one and then close game two was huge. But also Ryan (Britt) getting four innings in game two as well as our other pitchers with some really huge outs.,” West head coach Ryan Griffin said. “Offensively, every player came up big at some point during the game. Every player 1-9 in the lineup is capable of getting a big hit and it showed.”

Griffin continued: “Overall I was pleased with our effort and the fight we showed. It was a big challenge to face Priceville in the first round, but the guys stepped up. I’m really proud of the guys.”

Game one: Covenant Christian Eagles 11, Athens Bible Trojans 5

ABS finished with eight hits in the first game, but five errors proved costly in their defeat by the Eagles. Eli Heibert went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Connor Abernathy had one hit and one RBI. Seth Leopard, Luke Thrasher and Eli Olree had one hit. Spencer Blake started on the mound for the Trojans. He threw six innings, allowing 11 runs (five earned), four walks with five strikeouts.

Game 2: Covenant Christian 14, Athens Bible 4

ABS had 12 hits in the game, four more than the Eagles, but were unable to come away with a victory, effectively ending their season. Cody Graviett had three hits with one RBI. Kacen Pierce and Thrasher had two hits. Heibert went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Drake Richter, Abernathy and Blake all had one hit. The Trojans used four pitchers in the game, walking a total of nine batters and giving up seven earned runs. ABS finishes the season with an overall record of 12-12.

Game one: Elkmont Red Devils 8, Sylvania Rams 3

The Red Devils took game one of Friday’s doubleheader. Mykell Murrah started on the mound for the Red Devils, going five innings allowing three hits, three runs (zero earned), six walks with five strikeouts. Elkmont totaled 12 hits. Preston Robinson led Elkmont with three hits and three RBIs. Shane Boger, Jack Thomas and Camryn Peden all had two hits with one RBI. Ty Roberts had one hit.

Game two: Sylvania 8, Elkmont 3

The Rams evened things up at one game apiece Friday night. Roberts started on the hill for the Red Devils, going one inning allowing six runs (five earned). Bryson Miller came in relief of Roberts in the second. He pitched four innings, giving up eight hits and two earned runs, allowed two walks and hadtwo strikeouts. Thomas threw one inning with one strikeout. Robinson continued his hot streak at the plate going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Thomas had two hits with one RBI. Chance Pepper and Ty Roberts each had one hit.

Game three: Sylvania 10, Elkmont 8

The third and final game of the series and ultimately the season for the Red Devils came to a close Saturday losing two out of three to the Rams, who will move on to the second round. Elkmont finished with 10 hits in the game. Murrah went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Boger went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Peden also had two RBIs while Thomas added one. Pepper had two hits with one RBI. Robinson had one hit and one RBI. Ty Roberts and Clay Looney also added one hit. Ryan Boyd was the starter for the Red Devils, going 1 1/3, six runs (five earned) on six hits with one strikeout. Clay Boley relieved Boyd, giving up four runs( two earned) on five hits. He walked four with four strikeouts. Thomas pitched 3 1/3 only allowing two hits allowed with one strikeout. Elkmont ends the season with an overall record of 14-11.