The Pike Liberal Arts Patriots (19-15) split the first two games in the Class 2A Quarterfinal series with the Tuscaloosa Academy Knights (16-20) on Wednesday. 

Pike dominated game one, securing an 8-1 win to go up 1-0 in the series. In the first inning, Garrett Whitaker sparked the Patriots with a three-run home run and the Patriots managed to go up 6-0 in the first inning and never looked back. 

Whitaker led PLAS at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs, while Pruitt Vaughan went 2-for-4 with a run and Jack Baggett went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. Wilson Cotton drove in three runs and Dawson Bradford scored two runs. Kade Brookins pitched all seven innings and struck out a pair of batters, while giving up one hit and no earned runs. 

For Tuscaloosa Academy, Harwood Beeker earned the lone hit of the game and Kaleb Colgrove scored one run. Beeker pitched six and 1/3 innings and fanned six batters, while giving up eight hits and seven earned runs. 

Game two was a back-and-forth affair with the Knights tying the series with an 11-9 win. Pike held a slim 3-2 lead going into the third inning but Tuscaloosa Academy scored four runs in the third to go up 6-3. The Knights extended that lead to 11-3 with five more runs in the top of the fourth. 

The Patriots then began to rally as Vaughan hit an RBI double into left field that drove Bradford home and Cole Garrott drove in Brookins to cut the Knight lead to 11-5. In the bottom of the sixth, Pike added four more runs to come within two but Tuscaloosa Academy kept PLAS scoreless in the seventh to force a deciding game three. 

Bradford went 2-for-3 at the plate in game two with three runs, while Brookins went 2-for-4 with a double and a run. Luke Barron collected two hits and drove in two runs, while Vaughan also drove in two runs and Jackson Bowen scored two runs. Whitaker pitched four innings and fanned three batters, while giving up six hits and five earned runs. Braden Shirley also struck out a pair of batters and gave up three hits and five earned runs in two and 1/3 innings pitched. 

For Tuscaloosa Academy, Ellis Hamiter went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs, while Colgrove hit a two-run homer. Hamiter pitched five and 2/3 innings and struck out five batters, while giving up seven hits and four earned runs. 

Pike and Tuscaloosa Academy will face off in game three on May 1 at 1 p.m. with the winner moving on to face the winner of Cottonwood vs. Reeltwon in the 2A Semifinals next week.