Photo courtesy of Jeremy Raines
Vestavia Hills' Hudson Walburn (15) celebrates during the Rebels' Class 7A semifinals series against Thompson on May 12, 2023.
OXFORD – The Vestavia Hills High School baseball team is looking to get back to a place it was very familiar with years ago.
The Rebels won nine state championships over a 10-year period from 1991-2000, but have yet to return to the state championship series since winning the last of those in 2000.
Until this spring.
The Rebels rallied to defeat No. 1 Thompson in the Class 7A semifinals last week, setting up a matchup against Central-Phenix City in the finals this week.
Vestavia Hills will face the Red Devils, the defending state champions, in a best-of-three series to decide this spring’s title. The first game of the series will be played Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. The second game will be Thursday at 4 p.m., at Jacksonville State University. A decisive third game, if necessary, will immediately follow that.
To get to the final, the Rebels had to pick themselves up off the mat after a tough first game last week.
The Rebels fell 11-1 in the first game of the semifinal series Thursday evening. Thompson scored single runs in the second and fourth, before notching 2 in the fifth and 7 in the sixth to finish the game in run-rule fashion. John Paul Head, Luke Henry Swanzy and Will Cox notched the only hits in the game for the Rebels.
The second game of the series began Thursday, but a weather delay forced it to be resumed and finished Friday afternoon, with Vestavia Hills earning a 3-2 win to even the series. Both teams scored a pair of runs in the third inning to leave the game tied at 2-2 until the sixth inning. In the sixth, a pair of walks led to Cox’s single to left field, scoring Hudson Walburn. Jable Ramey got the start for the Rebels and went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits. Ryan Vermillion came on for the seventh inning, firing a scoreless inning to record the save.
Harris said Ramey threw really well, with the runs he allowed coming in a short span.
“We haven’t lost two games in a row all year,” Harris said. “I don’t want to say it was a place of comfort, but there was no panic in our guys. We knew who we are.”
Vestavia Hills posted another 3-2 victory in the decisive third game Thursday night, advancing to the state championship series. Thompson posted a pair of unearned runs in the first inning off Vermillion, who continued on the hill after saving the first game of the day.
But Vermillion settled down and that would be all he allowed in the game. The Rebels scratched across a run in the third inning, as Walburn brought in a run with a single. That 2-1 score stood until the fifth inning, when Vestavia Hills struck for a pair of runs with two outs to take the lead for good. Swanzy got a base hit to right field to score 2 runs and give the Rebels a 3-2 lead.
Harris said he “couldn’t be happier” for Swanzy, who has battled health issues to return this season and come up with the biggest hit of the night for his team. Jackson Harris contributed 4 hits between the two games and Walburn had multiple key moments as well.
Vermillion finished off the complete game to lift the Rebels to the state championship series. He threw all 7 innings, allowing 6 hits and striking out 6 batters on 99 pitches.
“Considering he threw eight inning of zero earned runs, he was pretty dang good,” Harris said. “We were hoping for four [innings in the second game], but it seemed like he got stronger as the game went on…He was a warrior.”
Central knocked off Hewitt-Trussville to win the state title last spring and have not fallen off any this season.
“This is the 7A championship game, so there’s going to be college players all over the field,” Harris said. “They’re there for a reason and they’re going to get all the respect in the world from us.
“But you know what? We’re really good, too, and have really good players.”
