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File / TPI Stanhope Elmore reached the quarterfinals with a game three win over Helena after an early home run set the tone.

HELENA – The Stanhope Elmore Mustangs are heading to the quarterfinals of the Class 6A

playoffs after defeating the Helena Huskies in game three of their second round series.

Stanhope Elmore won game three 4-3 on Monday, April 28 at Helena High School after a 3-2 win in game one and a 15-2 loss in six innings in game two on Saturday, April 26.

After the series was pushed back to Saturday and Monday due to rain, Helena took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first of game one thanks to a one-out RBI double from Nick Peters.

The Huskies kept the Mustangs at bay all the way through the sixth inning when a Davis Kelley RBI double took the lead to 2-0 ahead of the seventh and final inning.

Stanhope got a chance to bounce back when an error with one out in the top of the seventh moved Jordan Jones from first all the way to home to open up the scoring. Another error put

Luke Payne on second and gave the Mustangs two runners in scoring position with just one out. A sacrifice bunt from Brayden Smith tied up the game at 2-2 and left Payne on third for MackBoswell. He came up with an RBI double to take a 3-2 lead that Stanhope held on to in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a one-two-three inning.

Jones was 2-for-3 with a run while Jackson Stallworth finished 2-for-4, and Smith and Boswell each secured an RBI. Tyler Woodham took the win with just one earned run in seven innings against six hits and no walks.

For Helena, Brayden Dockery took the loss despite earning nine strikeouts and not allowing any earned runs while going the distance. Peters was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Game 2 saw the Huskies also get in front with a run off an error in the top of the first and another thanks to a Sam Odom sacrifice fly after a lead-off triple from Kelley to start the second.

Helena took that 2-0 lead into the third, where they continued to do damage. With two on and one out, Hudson Campbell stole home ahead of an RBI single by Lane Harris to make it 4-0. Two batters later, Odom added another RBI to his total with an RBI double for the 5-0 lead.

Stanhope got on the board in the bottom of the third when a two-run home run by Stallworth cut the deficit to 5-2. That would be the only bit of offense from the Mustangs as the Huskies scored 10 unanswered runs after that.

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After a scoreless fourth, Helena got the first two baserunners of the fifth aboard before a Kelley RBI double and an Odom sacrifice fly took the lead to 7-2. A Jonathan Roberto walk and a Nate Jones single set up a two-run double by Brett Cannon, increasing the lead to 9-2.

The Huskies quickly loaded up the bases in the top of the sixth with two singles and a Kelley walk. Odom drew a bases-loaded walk ahead of a Roberto sacrifice fly for the 11-2 lead. Jones was then hit by a pitch before Cannon singled to make it a 12-2 game.

Peters finished off the 15-2 win two batters later with a three-run, bases-clearing RBI double before a one-two-three bottom of the sixth wrapped up the run-rule win. Brayden Kendrick was 4-for-5 with three runs, Cannon finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run and Harris went 2-for-4 with a walk, three runs and an RBI. Scott was 2-for-5, Jones went 2-for-3 with a run and Kelley had a 2-for-3 day with a walk, three runs and an RBI.

Justin Mullenix finished with two runs off six hits and a walk across six innings to take the win. Stallworth finished 2-for-3 with his two-run home run while the Mustangs used six different pitchers in the game.

In Game 3, Stallworth got Stanhope rolling with a single on the first pitch of the game to bring up Hayden Anderson. On a 1-2 pitch, Anderson launched a two-run home run to take a 2-0 lead that held all the way through the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Huskies got going in the home half of the fourth with a Kendrick single followed by a Harris walk and an error off a Campbell bunt. Odom then drew a bases-loaded walk to make it a one-run game, and after a pitching change, the tying run came across from an error off a Roberto grounder.

Jones then hit a ground ball to third and forced the Mustangs to make the easy out at third, allowing the go-ahead run to score for the 3-2 lead for Helena. Stanhope got out of a bases-loaded jam shortly afterwards and didn’t allow a single run the rest of the way.

The Mustangs responded in the top of the fifth after getting two aboard with one out, and after a pitching change, an error by Helena’s new pitcher allowed Stanhope to tie up the game.

Another error on the next pitch put the Mustangs back in front 4-3, and they held that lead through the final two innings to seal the win.

Stallworth once again had a multi-hit game with a 2-for-3 day with a run, adding to his four strikeouts on the mound across three innings. Bryson Wright came in for three shutout innings before Payne finished the job in the seventh.

The Mustangs will now host the Spanish Fort Toros in the quarterfinals on Friday, May 2 at 5 and 7 p.m. at Stanhope Elmore High School with game three to take place Saturday, May 3 at 1 p.m. if needed.