Handley ousted from playoffs
The Handley Tigers ended their season at the hands of top-ranked Alabama Christian in the first round of the playoffs Friday in Montgomery.
Handley head coach Kevin Smith said that Alabama Christian was everything they expected them to be.
“They definitely lived up to their number-one ranking in my opinion,” Smith said.
Alabama Christian defeated Handley in the first game of the series, 13-3, in six innings.
Smith said ACA was as proficient a batting team as the Tigers have seen this season.
“They hit the ball well,” Smith said. “If it was anywhere around the plate, they were hitting.”
Handley fell behind 6-0 by the end of the second inning. The Tigers managed to narrow the gap by scoring two runs in the top of the third, but ACA put up three more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 9-2 lead.
The Tigers put up one more run in the top of the fifth, but ACA followed that up with a pair of two-run innings in the bottoms of the fifth and sixth.
Handley starting pitcher Leandro Velazquez pitched a solid game, walking only two batters and striking out two in two innings, but the bats of ACA were a force to be reckoned with.
Austin Fetner came in for relief in the third and finished out the game, walking only one and striking out one.
Leading the Tigers at the plate was Fetner, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Andrew Norred was 2-for-3 with one RBI and Anthony Taylor was 2-for-3. Velazquez, Nick Whaley, Trey Johnson and Vince Bonner were each 1-for-3.
“We hit the ball well, but we couldn’t come up with a timely hit,” Smith said. “We just couldn’t get that key hit to drive in the runs when we needed them.”
Game two of the series held similar results for the Handley Tigers as ACA defeated them, 15-4.
Alabama Christian came out swinging once again, scoring two runs in the top of the first, five runs in the top of the second and one run in the top of the third. Handley finally put a run across the plate in the bottom of the third inning to make the score 8-1.
ACA continued to batter Handley, scoring two runs in the fourth, two runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth.
The Tigers put up another run in the bottom of the fourth and two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the game was set after ACA’s big sixth inning.
Chans Morrison and Velazquez were no match on the mound for Alabama Christian’s bats, with neither pitcher throwing a strikeout and giving up four combined walks.
Handley had a little more trouble batting in the second game of the series against ACA’s stud pitcher.
“They had a good pitcher throwing in the high 80s, low 90s,” Smith said. “We still hit him, but we couldn’t get the key hits.”
Velazquez was perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with one RBI. Taylor was 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Taylor’s performance also marked the end of a 21-game hitting streak.
Rounding out the top hitters for Handley were Fetner with a 1-for-3 performance and Johnson with a 1-for-1 performance.
Smith said ultimately it was ACA’s batting that proved to be too much for Handley.
“They just came out on fire hitting the ball,” Smith said. “They were probably the best hitting team we’ve seen.”
Smith said that although this Handley team has seen its shares of ups and downs this season, the Tigers still consider the team’s first playoff appearance in years to be a sign of future success.
“It was a roller coaster season,” Smith said. “I was proud of these boys. I’m ready to get started on next year. We’ve got the program going in the right direction. Our boys aren’t satisfied with just making the playoffs.”
