Handley one win away from area championship after Tuesday victory over Munford

By Tim Altork | April 7, 2026

Handley’s Sklyer Hester earned his fifth win of the season after he gave up two unearned runs and scattered eight hits in five innings of an 8-2 win over Munford Tuesday.

The Handley Tigers landed a key victory in their quest to win their baseball area championship after they knocked off Munford 8-2 Tuesday in Roanoke.

Both teams entered the game unbeaten in area play, with Handley boasting convincing wins in their season series against Anniston and Talladega. Munford also swept Talladega but has not yet played Anniston.

With Munford expected to win against Anniston in that future matchup, this week’s series between Handley and Munford is, for all intents and purposes, for the area championship.

Pitching was a big part of the Tigers’ success Tuesday as starter Skyler Hester scattered eight hits and allowed a pair of unearned runs in the second inning while striking out five in five innings to get the win. Luke Murr pitched the final two innings in scoreless fashion to close out the victory.

The game turned Handley’s way in the third inning. After both teams scored twice in the second, Munford loaded the bases with two outs in the third, threatening to break the tie. But Hester induced a harmless fly ball to right fielder Alex Busbin to end the inning and leave the bases loaded. Handley then churned out a run in the bottom of the inning and never relinquished that lead.

Zae Dunson led off the third with double to the fence in left. Murr bunted him to third, and Hester’s sacrifice fly brought him home to put Handley ahead 3-2.

With the outcome still very much in doubt Handley broke it open with a five-run fifth inning. Cordan Patterson and Dunson led off the inning with a pair of hits to get them to second and third with nobody out. Murr and Hester followed with back-to-back RBI groundouts to make the score 5-2. But with two outs and no one on base, Handley got things started again thanks to a hit batter and a throwing error that allowed Cole Davis and Kaleb Powell to reach. Aden Anthony drove both of them home with a double to the right field gap, and Alex Busbin tacked on another run with a two-out, RBI single to bring home Anthony.

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That 8-2 lead was more than enough for Murr to close things out as he allowed two hits and struck out two over the final two innings.

Anthony finished 2-for-4 with three RBI out of the leadoff spot, while Busbin, Patterson and Dunson added two hits each.

The win improved Hester’s record this season to 5-2, to go along with a 2.68 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched.

Anthony leads Handley hitters with a .518 batting average. He has driven in 13 runs and scored a team-high 29 times.

Handley is now 14-7 for the year and has won eight straight games going back to a stunning March 20 loss to Woodland. The Tigers will travel to Munford Thursday needing one win to finish off the best-of-three series and claim the area title.