Spartans come up big to make playoffs

The Mountain Brook High School baseball team knew it would be a significant challenge to qualify for the playoffs out of Class 6A, Area 9.

But the Spartans found a way to make it happen.

In late March, Mountain Brook split its opening area series with Chelsea. A couple weeks later, the Spartans split two area games against Briarwood, setting up a two-game series with Homewood in mid-April to determine the season’s fate.

Mountain Brook responded in a major way, sweeping Homewood with wins of 10-0 and 9-7 to earn a share of the Area 9 championship.

The area is so tight that Homewood entered the final area series atop the standings and ended up missing the playoffs entirely after Mountain Brook pulled off the sweep.

“Any win in our area is a big win,” Mountain Brook head coach Lee Gann said. “This area is so tough, every team is so competitive and well-coached, there’s no (given games).”

Mountain Brook fell to Chelsea 12-7 in the area championship tiebreaker game, but the most important thing for the Spartans is finding their way into the playoffs. Once into the postseason, anything can happen.

“I think our players are playing really well right now, playing with a lot of confidence,” Gann said in mid-April.

The team is not led by a singular star, but from contributors in all facets of the game. Collectively, Gann describes the group as one that is still young. There is a heavy junior presence, with some sophomores in the everyday lineup as well.

“They care about one another, they share in each other’s success, don’t care who gets the credit. When you have players that feel that way, good things happen to you,” Gann said. “We’ve done a nice job offensively in creating productive at-bats and the pitchers have done a phenomenal job of doing what they do on the mound. We do a nice job of defending.”

Gann said the team’s approach to the critical games on the schedule is the same as any other. The team has the requisite experience now to perform well in big moments by focusing on the small details because of the schedule the Spartans have played throughout the season. They have competed in the Perfect Game High School Showdown, which featured some of the top teams in the region, the Battle at the Beach in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the Buccaneer Classic in Hoover.

“It’s not like they haven’t been here and done it before, they just have to relax and go play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. When you don’t worry about the opponent and just play the game, it takes a lot of pressure off them,” Gann said.

As of press time, the Spartans were embarking on a playoff journey filled with opportunity. More than anything, Gann was glad to see the Spartans make the playoffs to extend their time playing together as a team.

“It’s been such a fast season, and here we are looking at the last game of the regular season. It went by too fast,” he said.