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Chambers Academy completely dominated its return to the playoffs on the diamond as the Rebels swept Hooper Academy at home in round one. 

 

Game One: Chambers Academy – 14 Hooper Academy – 3

 

The Rebels used a dominant first inning to get ahead early and come away with a 14-3 statement win in game one of the first-round series. 

Kyle Hand got things started for Chambers Academy as he drove in three runs with a triple in the bottom of the first inning. Jon Caulfield drove in another run with a two-out single. The decisive blow in the inning came with two outs and the bases loaded. Payton Yerta caught a hanging breaking ball and cranked a grand slam over the wall in center field to give Chambers Academy an early 8-0 lead. 

Hand’s command on the mound started to slip in the top of the second inning as Hooper scored three runs with just one hit. Three hit batters and two walks gave the Colts life, but that momentum was quickly stifled. 

Yerta drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second before Eli Whorton drove in two more with a single to give Chambers Academy an 11-3 lead. 

The Rebels added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth as Landon Hand drove in Sam Smith and Yerta with a single. Drew Sheppard drove in the final run with a two-out single. 

Kyle got the start on the mound and allowed three earned runs in two innings. Kole Baker finished the game, allowing no hits and no runs while striking out five batters. 

Kyle and Landon Hand, along with Yerta and Whorton led the way for Chambers Academy. Landon finished with one hit for two RBIs while Kyle added three RBIs. Whorton went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Yerta went 1-for-2 with four RBIs, three runs and two walks. 

 

Game Two: Chambers Academy – 10 Hooper Academy – 2

 

The Colts got on the board early in game two as they took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Rebels scuffled at the plate at first, but they found their way later in the game. 

The Rebels tied it at one in the top of the third inning as Yerta scored on an error. Errors came back to bite Hooper again as Phillip Belcher gave the Rebels the lead on an error in the top of the fourth inning. 

Then, the Rebels came alive at the plate. Drew Sheppard got it started in the top of the fifth inning with a solo home run. Then Kyle drove in a run with a single to make it 5-1 before a bases-loaded walk added another run. Sam Smith drove in two runs with a single before a wild pitch and an error scored two more runs and gave the Rebels a 10-1 lead.
Hooper Academy found some life in the bottom of the fifth inning with a one-run single, but the Colts could never string enough hits together. 

Sheppard got the start on the mound for Chambers Academy and put together a solid performance. Sheppart allowed just five hits and one earned run while striking out six batters in 6 ⅔ innings. Landon got the last out as he struck out the final batter to send Hooper Academy packing. 

The win improved Chambers Academy’s record to 17-13 on the season. The Rebels have won five in a row and will face Southern Academy in the second round on April 19.