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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

The Montevallo Bulldogs will continue their season into the playoffs in 2022 thanks to two area sweeps during the regular season, including a recent dominant effort against Dallas County.

Coming off two losses to Bibb County a week earlier, giving the Choctaws the area championship, the Bulldogs responded with two dominant wins against Dallas County on April 12 and 14.

They picked up two of their biggest wins of the season behind a combined score of 35-4, winning game one on the road 21-1 and game two at home 14-3.

In the opening game of the series, the Bulldogs scored eight combined between the first two innings to jump out to an 8-0 lead, but it was the third inning that ultimately put the game out of reach.

Montevallo surpassed the combined run total from the first two innings in the third alone, scoring 13 to take a 21-0 advantage.

Dallas County scored one run in the bottom of the fifth but no more, as the Bulldogs picked up a 20-run area win.

In the win, Reid Cordes was huge, finishing a home run shy of the cycle. He finished 4-for-4 with seven RBIs and four runs scored. Kemp Swords was also perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs, while Grayson Duckworth and Luke Oden both finished with two hits and two RBIs.

Beyond that, Brantley Burk and Wesley Burdett finished with two hits and one RBI, Kial Cottingham and Jaylon Hudson each posted one hit and one RBI and Charlie Adams finished with two hits.

On the mound, Brady Baugh pitched the first three innings and struck out six while allowing no runs on just one hit and two walks. Zach Shores finished off the final two innings by striking out three and allowing one unearned run on two hits.

Game two of the series was slightly tighter, but only slightly, as the Bulldogs jumped out to another insurmountable lead.

They scored two in the first, six in the second and four in the third to take a 12-0 lead.

Dallas County scored three in the top of the fourth, but that became the only blemish for Montevallo, who came right back with two in the bottom half of the inning to finish off another five-inning win by a final of 14-3.

Swords led the Bulldogs in game two thanks to three hits and four RBIs, while Andrew Thompson totaled four RBIs on two hits. Cordes added three more hits in the win and two more RBIs, while Baugh finished with two hits and two RBIs. Cottingham totaled two hits and scored three runs.

On the mound, Swords pitched the first four innings and struck out four while allowing three unearned runs on two hits and two walks. Cordes finished off the game by striking out two batters in the final inning.

Montevallo finished runner-up to Bibb County in the area, earning a spot as the two seed out of the area heading into the playoffs.