A spring wind
- Updated: March 4, 2025
Ahead of storm, Oxford blows game open, gusts past Alexandria for another Calhoun County baseball title.
Calhoun County baseball tournament
All games at Choccolocco Park
FRIDAY, Feb. 28
First round
No. 12 Faith Christian 9, No. 13 Anniston 3
No. 11 Jacksonville Christian 15, No. 14 Saks 3
No. 7 Donoho 15, No. 10 Weaver 11
No. 8 Pleasant Valley 6, No. 9 Wellborn 3
No. 5 Jacksonville 17, Faith 0
No. 6 Ohatchee 12, JCA 2
SATURDAY. March 1
Quarterfinals
Jacksonville 3, No. 4 White Plains 2
No. 2 Alexandria 9, Donoho 5
No. 3 Piedmont 15, Ohatchee 0
No. 1 Oxford 15, Pleasant Valley 0
MONDAY, March 3
Semifinals
Alexandria 4, Piedmont 1
Oxford 5, Jacksonville 0
TUESDAY, March 4
Championship
Oxford 12, Alexandria 2
All-Tournament team
MVP: James Tapley, Oxford.
Defensive MVP: Bray Goode, Alexandria.
Offensive MVP: Hudson Gilman, Oxford.
Alexandria: Cooper Smith, Jacob Cunningham.
Donoho: Hayes Farrell.
Jacksonville: Jackson Bonner, Jackson Askew.
Ohatchee: Ethan Jones.
Oxford: Reid Maniscalco, Rocco Maniscalco.
Piedmont: Cole Austin, Kale Austin.
Pleasant Valley: Noah Johnson.
White Plains: Dalton Luker.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD — A famous NFL Films narration about the golden-era of the Oakland Raiders flashes their Jolly Rogers helmet logo and begins, ominously, with John Facenda’s signature line.
“The Autumn Wind is a pirate, blustering in from sea,” he said.
The spring wind was a Yellow Jacket during Tuesday’s Calhoun County baseball final, blowing in from right field, so strongly that it blew netting off of the right field fence. Dirt lifted and levitated across Choccolocco Park’s signature field.
Top seeded Oxford was the wind, and gusts of offense blew James Tapley to a most-valuable-player performance and the Yellow Jackets beat an incoming storm and No. 2 Alexandria, 12-2.
Tapley finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, including the game-ending single to plate Hudson Gilman in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Oxford pounded out 12 hits and took advantage of six errors by a young Alexandria team, missing 15 seniors from the team that played Oxford to an 11-inning thriller in this game and went on to win a Class 5A state title last year.
This story will be updated.
Alexandria-Oxford
–T1: Jacob Cunningham’s RBI single puts Alexandria up 1-0. … Balk advances runners to home and third bases, and Alexandria leads 2-0.
–B1: Oxford scores on Hudson Gilman’s sac fly, trimming Alexandria’s lead to 2-1.
–T2: Reid Maniscalco in to pitch for Gavin Griner, and Alexandria goes down in order.
–B2: Canaan Whitman grounder plates and Oxford run to tie the game 2-2. … Zakaree Newton with an RBI single to put Oxford up 3-2. … Rocco Maniscalco RBI single puts Oxford up 4-2.
–T3: Nothing for Alexandria.
–B3: Oxford gets Lawler to third with two outs but can’t get him home. Still 4-2, Oxford.
—T4: Colton Parten in to pitch for Oxford. … Alexandria goes down in order.
–B4: Reid Maniscalco with an RBI single to put Oxford up 5-2. … James Tapley hard grounder to third, gets off the glove and scores two runs to make it 7-2. … Marcus Lawler reaches on an error, scores another run to make it 8-2.
–T5: Alexandria goes down in order.
–B5: Garrett Haynes in to pitch for Alexandria. … Bradford reaches on an error, scores another run to make ti 9-2, Oxford. … Rocco Maniscalco with an RBI triple to make it 10-2. … Hudson Gilman with an RBI single to make it 11-2. … Tapley RBI single ends it.
FINAL: Oxford wins 12-2.
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