As the night began to roll on at Chelsea High School, the Chelsea Hornets took the field in the bottom of the seventh inning of their second game of the day needing only to handle business, just as they had done all game long.
With a comfortable lead on their team's side, and Jackson Price still dealing on the pitcher's mound, every person wearing blue, white and black sat eagerly, feeling confident in the Hornets to get the job done.
Two outs sitting on the board and a man on first, Price faced Stanhope Elmore power hitter Jackson Stallworth. On a 2-0 count, Stallworth took a swing at the third pitch he saw, making contact with the ball.
The ball traveled towards the right side, landing in the glove of Chelsea second baseman Bryant Wisdom. Wisdom fielded it, threw it to first and just seconds after, ran into the dog pile full of Hornets as they achieved at least two more games with each other.
The celebration was the culmination of the Hornets performing a two-game sweep over the Stanhope Elmore Mustangs, winning 3-2 and 8-1 to advance to their first state championship series since 2019.
For Chelsea coach Michael Stallings, the achievement brought a feeling of true joy for him, seeing the program write more history while also seeing his senior class achieve something they have worked towards all year.
"I'm just excited for the program, excited for these guys, excited for our seniors," Stallings said. "They put so much into the day-to-day and being the best version that they can be for the team and program. They deserve it, I'm just truly excited for them."
Both games were battles in their own ways, and game one set that tone early.
Aiden Hughes took the mound to start game one for the Hornets, but quickly felt tension. On the second batter of the game, Mustangs shortstop Hayden Anderson reached second off of a throwing error following a ground ball. Later, he scored when Justin Jones laced a single to right field to make it 1-0 Stanhope.
However, in the bottom of the first, Chelsea answered back. Hughes got on base on a ground ball to the right side, and later crossed the plate after Cade Mims struck a single into center field to tie things.
The Mustangs took the lead back in the top of the second on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Anderson, putting the score at 2-1.
It was not until the third though that the Hornets could really mount an answer, and they did when Mack Breazeale singled on a line drive to center field, driving in Mims to make it 2-2.
Hughes was then pulled from the game in the top of the fourth inning after surrendering a walk, handing the ball to Paxton Stallings, who dealt with energy for the opening game.
His pitching opened the door for Chelsea, and in the bottom of the fifth with two outs, a pop fly from Breazeale just over the edge of the outfield grass was mishandled, allowing Hughes to score from third and obtain a 3-2 lead.
The game finished out quickly after that as Paxton Stallings continued to deal, gathering five strikeouts in four innings.
"I felt great," Paxton Stallings said. "I came in there and got out of the jam and just carried it the rest of the game and it helped us a lot."
His resilience energized his teammates for the second game, which proved to be extremely beneficial.
Price took on Stanhope's Luke Payne in game two, and both pitchers brought the best out of each other, as the first three innings of the duel were tight with few mistakes.
However, in the top of the fourth inning, an RBI single from Aiden Craven broke the lock for the Hornets to make it 1-0. Soon after, Luke Neill turned up the momentum, lacing a two-RBI single to right field to extend the lead to 3-0.
In the top of the fifth, Chelsea extended things even more with an RBI double from Mims and another RBI single off of Craven's bat, putting the score at 5-0. The Mustangs finally got on the board though in the bottom half with a single from Stallworth to right to cut things to 5-1.
As the game carried on, the Hornets needed to play soundly, but still wanted more insurance. That insurance was exactly what they got.
In the top of the seventh, a single from Stallings with two runners on scored Chase Lackey, before another single from Neill to left field drove in both Craven and Stallings to push the game to 8-1.
After that, Price went out and finished the job quickly, allowing Brayden Smith on from a walk, but recovering well. Price went the distance as a result, earning the advancement with seven strikeouts and two walks on four hits and one run given up.
