Opelika sweeps Prattville, advances to state title series

By Tom Peavy

Published: May 10, 2008

PRATTVILLE — Opelika booked its ticket to the dance.

As Prattville’s Corey Lee struck out swinging, Opelika starter Chase Dawson spiked his glove and welcomed the sprinting mob from the dugout.

The strikeout sealed a 6-5 win in Game 2, giving the visiting the Bulldogs the semifinal series sweep after winning, 5-4, in the opener.

Opelika (41-2) now sets its sights on the state championship series against Hoover which begins next Friday in Montgomery.

“It’s great for our kids, our school, our community — it’s just great,” Opelika head coach Barry Hightower said. “To get to the finals (after beating) a team we’ve battled hard with the past few years, it’s great to get over that hump.”

Senior second baseman Matt Middleton and Jonathon Campbell proved to be two of the series heroes.

In Game 1, Middleton took care of a 4-3 double play to end a serious Prattville threat, and keep Opelika ahead by a run.

In Game 2, Campbell’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth broke a 5-all tie.

“We’ve done like we’ve done all year — find a way to win,” Middleton said. “We worked hard, trusted our pitchers and got some hits when we needed it.”

In Game 2, Prattville scored five runs in the third to take a 5-3 lead.

Opelika, though, was able to tie the game up with two runs in the fourth. Those two runs came on a bases-loaded double off the bat of Mike Love that scored Brooks Robinson and Zach Blatt.

The score remained tied heading to the sixth. Robinson led off and reached on an error and went to third on a single by Blatt. Campbell came up and lofted a fly ball to right field that was just deep enough to plate Robinson.

And that was all Dawson needed.

Dawson got Taylor Harris to ground out then struck out Brady Sutley and Lee to end it.

“I had to go to shut-down mode,” Dawson said. “It was awesome to end it on a strikeout. I had the adrenaline pumping, so I went after ’em.”

Dawson got the win, allowing five runs on just three hits. He also struck out 12. Blatt went 2-for-4 at the plate in Game 2, but reached base all four times up.

In the opener, Opelika took a 5-1 lead after a two-run homer from Love.

But things almost unraveled in the sixth as Prattville loaded the bases with no outs and got a three-run double from Chad Oates.

The Lions again loaded the bases with no outs before Blatt pitched out of the trouble. He got a fielder’s choice at home, then a grounder to Middleton that allowed for the inning-ending double play.

Blatt retired the Lions in order — the first time all game — in the seventh to preserve the Game 1 win.

Blatt, battling through a sore foot that left him in tears after the game, allowed 10 hits, but also struck out seven.

Campbell led the way at the plate for the Bulldogs, going 2-for-3 with a double.

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