Maplesville’s baseball team opened its season with a 13-3 win over Holy Spirit on Feb. 19 before hosting Selma High School at home on Feb. 20.

The Red Devils came up short, falling in the contest against the Saints, 5-1.

Frigid temperatures settled in over Maplesville, as the Saints opened up a 1-0 lead over the first four frames.

John Schoener reached base on an error to start the bottom of the fourth, moving over to second when Thomas Schoener dropped a single in to put a runner in scoring position with no outs.

Unfortunately for the Devils, the Saints were able to turn two on a Devan Wallace grounder, ending the rally by causing Trevor Wallace to fly out.

The Saints used timely hitting and aggressive base running to extend the lead to 3-0 in the top of the fifth.

A three-up, three-down bottom of the fifth followed for Maplesville, with the Red Devils defense shutting down the Saints in the top of the sixth.

Pitcher Thomas Schoener struck out the first batter faced in the inning. Schoener then induced a fly ball out and surrendered a single before a fielder’s choice ended the top half with the home team still trailing by three.

Again, the Red Devils had trouble finding the gaps in the Saints’ defense, as two groundouts and a line out ended the inning.

Selma added two more runs in the top of the seventh, extending the lead to 5-0 with a half-inning remaining.

In the bottom of the frame, Devan Wallace found a hole in the Selma defense, getting on base after a single. Wallace then stole second before Trevor Wallace hit into a fielder’s choice.

Nathan Bush provided the lone RBI for the Red Devils, knocking in Wallace to break the Saints’ shutout and cut the lead to 5-1.

Unfortunately, it was all Maplesville could muster, as the Saints took a 5-1 road win.

Verbena notches win in opener

The Verbena Red Devils baseball team got its season off to a strong start, taking an 8-4 win over West Blocton on Feb. 19.

The Red Devils won the contest in extra innings, taking the win after 11 frames.

Christian Agee went 2-for-6 with a double and an inside-the-park home run, while Grant Deavers went 2-for-5 with a double, as did Quandarius Ray, who added two RBI.

The Red Devils’ defense turned three double plays, with Deavers going seven innings on the mound. He surrendered four runs in the no decision, walking four and striking out two.

Cole Mims struck out four in four innings of work, recording the win.