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Chelsea’s Carter Frederick points to his mom in the stands after hitting his first home run of the season. (For the Reporter/Cari Dean)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor 

CHELSEA – As he rounded the bases following a home run, Chelsea leader Carter Frederick was flooded with emotion on Thursday, March 12, in a matchup with the Pell City Panthers.

Carrying the weight of something much bigger than his first homer of the season, Frederick rounded third base and started trotting the final 90 feet from third to home where he found his mom, blew her a kiss and pointed in her direction right after crossing the plate.

While Chelsea is currently ranked No. 1 in Class 6A and sits at 11-3 on the season, that moment was one of the more special this year, as Frederick got to honor his mom, who is currently battling breast cancer.

The team has rallied around her wearing hats that have the initials ‘JF’ with a pink ribbon on the players’ hats this year, and on Thursday night, there was an even bigger honor as she got to watch her son bomb the solo shot over the left field wall for the game’s first run.

That home run came in the bottom of the first inning during Chelsea’s first at bat of the game, as Frederick stepped in the batter’s box as the leadoff hitter. After falling behind in the count 1-2, he eventually evened it at 2-2 before taking the next pitch deep.

That was the only run of the inning for Chelsea, but it added an extra spark to an already talented team.

Following a 1-2-3 inning defensively, the Hornets were able to add two more runs in the bottom of the second. It started when Hunter Anderson drove an RBI double to right field. Then, Chelsea was able to draw three consecutive walks to load the bases, the first of which was an intentional walk to Frederick and the third of which drove in a run to make it 3-0.

After a second out was recorded with the bases still loaded, Garrett Frey was hit by a pitch to bring home another un and put Chelsea in front 4-0 at the end of two innings.

Chelsea scored for the third inning in a row when Frederick drove home a run in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly.

Pell City pushed its first run across the plate in the top of the fourth, but that ended up being their only run of the game, as the Panthers still trailed 5-1.

Chelsea struck again in the bottom of the fifth with two more insurance runs to close out the scoring. A hit batter and single was followed by a sac bunt attempt from Anderson that ended in an error and allowed two runs to cross the plate.

The Hornets were able to feel comfortable throughout thanks to the effort of the reliable Connor Ball on the mound. He went the distance allowing one hit and one unearned run with 10 strikeouts to pick up the victory.

Offensively, Chelsea was led by Anderson with a 2-for-3 game, including three RBIs and one run. Frederick went 1-for-2 with a run scored and two RBIs thanks in large part to the special home run. Jackson Webster had a 2-for-4 game at the plate, while Cole Kennedy went 1-for-1 with three runs scored. Frye added a hit and an RBI, while Adam Reaves added one hit.

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