Spartans stunned by Thompson

The smaller, ultra-competitive Class 7A makes things interesting, but it means a whole new way of thinking.

For example, why would the top two baseball teams in the state be meeting in the first round of the playoffs?

But that's what happened last weekend when the No. 2 Mountain Brook Spartans had to travel to the No. 3 Thompson Warriors, and it resulted in heartbreak for the Spartans.

The Spartans took game one of the best-of-three series 7-6 in nine innings.

In the nightcap of the Friday doubleheader, it looked as if the Spartans were on their way to round two, leading 3-1 going to the seventh inning. But Thompson put together a nine-run inning, scoring six runs with two outs, to stave off elimination 10-3.

Thompson built on that momentum in Saturday's game three, scoring seven runs in the fourth inning on the way to a 9-3 win.

Thompson (27-13) advances to round two and will host top-ranked Vestavia HIlls, which eliminated sixth-ranked Hoover, on Friday, May 1, at 5 p.m. The teams will play a Friday doubleheader with a third game, if necessary, on Saturday. The winner of that best-of-three series will advance to the semifinals. Unlike the other classes, only 16 teams made the playoffs -- there are only 32 teams in Class 7A. So essentially, any team that makes the playoffs has already landed in the round of 16. A first-round loss, while disappointing, is not the equal of being knocked out in the first round in years past.

Mountain Brook ends its stellar season at 29-8. The Spartans were ranked No. 44 in the country by MaxPreps.