Cullman sweeps Patriots in quarterfinals

HOMEWOOD – The Homewood High School baseball team saw one of the most successful seasons in school history come to an end on Friday night, as the Patriots were swept by No. 2 Cullman in the Class 6A quarterfinals.

Cullman advances to play Hazel Green next week in the semifinals.

“I thought we ran into two really good pitchers and I thought we ran into a better team than us,” said Homewood head coach Lee Hall following the game. “We didn’t play extremely well in Game 1. We gave them 10 freebies — six hit-by-pitches and four walks — and when you do that to a really good team they’re going to make you pay for it.”

The Bearcats used a five-run third inning in Game 1 to pull away in an 8-1 victory. A four-RBI performance from Cullman’s Grayson Taylor in Game 2 gave Will Morrison the cushion he needed in a 6-1 win.

Homewood concluded the season with 29 wins, tying a school record set in 2013. The quarterfinal appearance was the Patriots’ sixth in school history and first since that 2013 season.

The Patriots boasted a roster of 12 seniors, a group that Hall said “will always be extremely special to us.” Sam Dantone, JB East, Ben Galloway, Josh Hall, Will Hall, Hunter Keim, Evan Lemak, Wesley McCalley, Jake Miller, Ben Teel, Reid Walker and Meyer Wolnek completed their final seasons wearing a Homewood jersey.

“This isn’t the most talented group that’s ever come through Homewood, but it’s the closest knit group that’s ever come through,” said Hall, who concluded his first season as coach. “(Pitching) coach (Keith) Brown can testify to that because he’s been here 20 years. The reason we had the success we had this year is because they love one another, they sold out to the team.”

Josh Hall stole four bases on the evening, which was enough to break his own single-season record. Josh Hall finished the year with 82 stolen bases, one more than his previous state record of 81, which he set as a sophomore at Randolph. The Ole Miss signee wrapped up his high school career with 224 career stolen bases, a national record.

Game 1: Cullman 8, Homewood 1

A big third inning proved enough for Cullman in Game 1, as the Bearcats downed Homewood, 8-1.

Weston Norton yanked a home run down the left field line in the first inning to give Cullman an early 1-0 lead.

Homewood got that run back in the bottom of the second. Lemak led off the inning with a double, was sacrificed to third base, and scored on a two-out bunt single from Miller.

But Cullman broke the tie with a five-run third inning and the Patriots never threatened again. After a strikeout to begin the frame, Homewood starter Justin Perreault surrendered a walk, two singles and hit two batters to set up Brennan Norton’s three-run, bases-clearing double that capped off the inning and gave Cullman a 6-1 lead.

Brennan Norton scored on a passed ball in the fifth and Carson Freeman scored on an error in the seventh to make the score 8-1.

For the Patriots, Perreault went five innings, allowing seven runs on six hits, while walking two and striking out three. Meyer Wolnek and Ben Galloway each pitched an inning in relief.

Cullman’s Michael Myers went the distance on the mound, surrendering just four hits in seven innings.

Game 2: Cullman 6, Homewood 1

Grayson Taylor’s four-RBI game in the nightcap gave Cullman starting pitcher Will Morrison all the help he needed to finish off the sweep, as the Bearcats rolled to a 6-1 victory.

With two men on and on two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Taylor ripped a triple that drove in both runners on base, and an errant throw into the third base dugout allowed Taylor to trot home to give Cullman a 3-0 lead.

Taylor struck again in the third inning with a two-run home run that cleared the trees beyond the left field fence, putting the Bearcats ahead 5-0. Cullman tacked on a final run in the fourth on a Cooper Beck homer.

Morrison yielded just one run — Josh Hall scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning — on three hits. He struck out 10 batters in a dazzling effort.

Keim got the start on the mound for the Patriots and went three innings, allowing just the damage from Taylor’s bat. Teel hurled the remaining four innings, with the Beck homer being the only hit he surrendered.