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The Opp Bobcats made quick work of Dadeville in the first round of the state playoffs, sweeping the Tigers in two games and advancing to the second round of the 3A state playoffs.

Game 1: Opp 12, Dadeville 2
Porter Nelson helped lead the Bobcats to a 12-2 victory in the first game of the playoffs with three four RBI on three hits, including a homerun.

Cody Ballard did his part on the mound, pitching a complete game and striking out eight Dadeville batters while giving up only one walk. He gave up two runs, but neither of those were earned runs.

Dadeville took the first lead of the game when a hard grounder was misplayed by the Opp defense, leading to a run and a 1-0 lead for the Tigers.

Opp came right back in the bottom of the inning. Dadeville’s defense got off to a tough start with two errors, setting up Riley Day and Cash Harrell as baserunners on first and second with no outs. A fielder’s choice moved those runners up to second and third. Zeb Green came in as a courtesy runner for Grady Patterson. Opp tied the game on a sacrfice fly by Nelson Hall, scoring Day while Green remained at second with two outs. P. Nelson followed with a single to drive in Green. A line-out ended the inning with Opp taking the lead, 2-1.

Both teams’ bats were quiet in the second with Opp’s Ballard striking out the side.

Dadeville managed to tie the game at 2-2 in the third, scoring on an error.

Opp began pulling away in the bottom of the third. Day began the inning and reached after being hit by a pitch. Harrell followed with a single as Day advanced to third on the hit. Day came in as the go-ahead run, 3-2, when the next batter, G. Patterson, singled to left-center field and advanced to second on the throw. Harrell made the score 4-2 scoring on a sacrifice by Hall. A single by Nelson and later an error by Dadeville gave the Bobcats a 6-2 lead after three innings.

Neither team scored until Opp put the game away in the bottom of the sixth.

After a walk by Ballard to lead off the inning, Holt Blair came in as his courtesy runner and advanced to second on a passed pitch. He scored on a single by Baylor Turman to make the score 7-2. Day followed, reaching on a fielding error, putting runners at first and second for the Bobcats. Turman and Day would each score after an error on the catcher followed by a passed ball, lifting the Bobcats to a 9-2 lead.

Later in the inning, Hall would hit a line-drive single, bringing in Harrell for Opp’s tenth run of the game. The game ended when Nelson hit a two-run homer over the centerfield fence, giving Opp a 12-2 lead and a victory by the 10-run rule.

Nelson led the team with his homerun and four RBI. Harrell also came away with three hits, including a double, scoring two runs. Hall finished with two RBI on one hit. Patterson and Turman each had a hit and an RBI.

Game 2: Opp 6, Dadeville 2
Opp secured the first-round sweep, defeating Dadeville 6-2 in the second game Friday night.

Defenses for both teams kept things quiet early on, but Opp began to make some noise in the top of the third.

Langley opened the inning with a lead-off single and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Harrell put runners at the corners when he was hit by a pitch. Blair came in as a courtesy runner for Harrell. Langley then opened the scoring, giving Opp a 1-0 lead, on a sacrifice fly by Patterson. With two outs, Blair stole second and advanced to third on an error, putting runners at the corners when Hall earned a walk. Hall advanced to second on a wild pitch and another one allowed both runners to come home, lifting the Bobcats to a 3-1 lead after three innings.

Dadeville came away with two runs after a couple errors by the Bobcats, cutting the lead to 3-2.

Opp got one back making the score 4-2 in the top of the fifth when Patterson singled home Day who had led off the inning with a walk.

After sitting the Dadeville batters down in the bottom of the fifth, Opp extended its lead to 5-2 in the top of the sixth when Langley singled in Matthew Morgan.

Dadeville threatened in the bottom of the sixth. But, with the bases loaded, Harrell struck out the final two batters to escape with Opp’s three-point lead intact.

Opp added one more run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Nolan Brown, driving in Hall for the 6-2 lead.

After recording the first out of the seventh, Nelson came in to get the final two outs in relief of Harrell and securing the 6-2 win and sending Opp to the next round of the playoffs.

Harrell earned the win, going 6.1 innings, giving up two unearned runs and striking out  six Dadeville batters. Nelson earned the save.

Langley went 2-for-2 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Patterson recorded two RBI on one hit. Brown had an RBI on one hit.

With the win, Opp improved to 19-7 on the season,  advancing to the second round of the playoffs and will travel to take on St. James in Montgomery on Friday.