AHSAA 7A Baseball Championship | Auburn claims their 5th state title with win over Hoover
Montgomery, AL – Auburn High School rebounded from an 8-2 loss to the Hoover Bucs in game two of the 2021 AHSAA Class 7A State Baseball Championship Series Thursday to win the state title with a clutch 7-6 win in the third and final game of the series.
The two teams battled for almost six hours in the doubleheader with the championship contest ending with reliever Ryan Olson striking out the final Hoover batter with the tying and winning runs on first and second.
Auburn (36-7), coached by Matt Cimo, took the early lead 3-1 and led 6-2 heading into the sixth inning. The Bucs (27-22) got two runs back thanks to a two run single by Alex Wilson.
The Tigers picked up what turned out to be the winning run in the bottom of the sixth when championship series MVP Patrick McGlon picked up his third hit driving in the final Auburn run. He finished 5-for-7 and turned in several defensive gems with his glove at third base. Auburn turned three double plays in the final game with two starting with McGlon.
Second baseman Todd Clay, who had a hand in all three double plays, added two hits and a pair of RBIs, Will Turner had two hits and Walter Zapp had a key run-scoring double.
Ty Truett collected three hits for the Bucs and drove in a run. Sean Agsalud slugged two doubles and added an RBI.
Matthew Rhodes hurled five solid innings allowing six hits and notching three strikeouts to get the win. He got some strong relief from Tanner Phillips and Olson, who picked up the save.
Collin Rengering started for the Bucs and gave up four hits to start the game. Tyler Wilson and Ford each hurled 2 2/3 innings allowing three hits and two runs. Wilson struck out two and Ford whiffed three.
In game two, Hoover winning pitcher Matthew Hawsey (11-4) pitched 5 1/3 strong innings, allowing five hits, walking none and striking out one to get the win. Catcher William Steele slugged a three-run homer in the first inning for all the runs the Bucs would need. R.J. Hamilton had two hits and scored three runs.
Patrick McGlon had two hits to pace Auburn. Ryan Austin also had a solo homer and scored both runs.
Jack Tullier (8-1) started and got the loss for the Tigers.
The state crown was the fifth in school history for Auburn. The Tigers brought home their first state title in 1986 and added championships under Hall of Fame head coach Matt Cimo in 2009, 2010, 2018 and 2021. Hoover has four state titles to its credit – 1972, 1981, 2008 and 2017.
The AHSAA TV Network, produced by WOTM TV, is televising the remaining games of the series live over the WOTM network of cable stations and is also being live-streamed over the NFHS Network.
