Smiths Station blanks Eufaula in regular-season finale

A 4-0 loss to Smiths Station wasn’t exactly the way Eufaula had hoped to end the regular season, but head coach Scott Ates saw plenty of positives as the Tigers prepared for their best-of-three series with Demopolis today in the first round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs.

The Tigers (9-15) held the Panthers, the eighth-ranked team in Class 6A, scoreless for four innings, and trailed by just a single run after five.

“I thought we played well for five innings,” Eufaula head coach Scott Ates said. “Smiths Station is one of the better teams in the state. The only reason they aren’t in the playoffs is because of the area they play in. That’s probably the toughest area in the state. For the most part I was pleased with the way we played. The sixth inning gave us some problems, but early we played well.”

The Panthers compete in Class 6A, Area 8, which features top-ranked Opelika, ninth-ranked Auburn and Central-Phenix City.

The showdown with the Panthers allowed Ates to give his entire pitching staff at least one inning of work. The only hurler that tossed more than an inning was right-hander James Hunter, who allowed one hit in two innings of work.

Right-hander Desmond Thomas, who is still nursing a strained groin, got the start and recorded one strikeout.

Right-hander Marco Cantu gave up a single in the fourth inning, and right-hander Bill Hamrick gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in the sixth. Hamrick also had a strikeout.

Right-hander Zack Brown pitched the game’s final inning and recorded one strikeout while yielding one hit.

Right-hander Britt Irvin was saddled with the loss after surrendering a single run in the fifth inning on one hit and two walks.

“We got to get everyone some work, and that was a positive,” Ates said. “Other than Desmond, Bill and James, those guys haven’t had many chances on the mound. This was a good opportunity for them to get some work in against a quality team in a close game.”

Offensively, the Tigers struggled. Eufaula managed to pick up just one hit in the contest – a single by Thomas in the top of the first inning.

Despite the lack of hitting, the Tigers did have their chances to score. They stranded five runners on base, including two in scoring position.

“We had our chances early, and that’s what I talked to the guys about,” Ates said. “We just didn’t get the job done, and in a playoff game the team that wins is going to be the team that gets the bunt down or gets the hit with a runner on third and one out. We didn’t do those things today.”

Eufaula and Demopolis will open the best-of-three series at 4 p.m. today in Demopolis. The second game will be played at 6:30 p.m., with game being played at 11 a.m. Saturday, if necessary.