This report is from our sister newspaper, The Cullman Times.

By Michael Cummings, Sports Writer

By his own admission, Drew Bryson threw one of the worst bullpen sessions of his career Thursday.

No one noticed Friday.

Bryson tossed six innings of shutout ball Friday night, sending top-ranked Cullman (29-14) to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs with an 8-0 victory over Mortimer Jordan (25-20) in game two of their best-of-three series.

The senior left-hander struck out 12 while giving up three hits and walking one as the two-time defending state champion Bearcats began their title defense with an easy series win.

But Bryson’s dominance was far from expected — at least according to the Bearcats senior himself — after Thursday’s sub-par bullpen session.

“It was awful, my fastball was all over the place and my curve was missing everywhere,” said Bryson, who recorded perfect frames in the first and third. “It was probably one of the worst bullpens I’ve ever had.”

Bryson out-dueled Blue Devils number-one starter Skylar Myrick, who allowed all eight runs on 10 hits and two walks in seven innings.

Nearing the 100-pitch mark, Bryson was replaced by Daniel Moore in the seventh. After a leadoff walk, Moore struck out two to finish the game.

“We wanted Daniel to get some playoff experience, get his feet wet a little,” said Bearcats coach Brent Patterson. “We were actually going to let Drew throw five innings, but the way he was throwing — he has a way of convincing.”

Cullman catcher Kyle Haga called the Bearcats senior tough to beat when he’s on top of his game.

“He doesn’t ever miss his spots,” said Haga, who went 1-for-3 with a double out of the leadoff spot. “He’s just a really tough pitcher. He’s tough to beat.”

Cullman came out of the blocks quickly. After taking the opener 24-2, the Bearcats scored three runs in the first inning on Austin Golden’s bases-clearing double.

Cullman grabbed two more in the third. Chase Mathis led off with a double and came around to score on an errant throw after Ben Moore singled. Bryson drove in the fifth run with a bunt single down the third baseline.

“We were mentally ready to play,” said Patterson. “Physically, we’re still not 100 percent, but I don’t know if anyone is this time of year. But mentally, I was proud of the guys. They did all the things we asked them to.”

Bryson added an RBI single in the fifth before Tyler Hale hit a run-scoring single in the sixth. Kyle Johnson completed the scoring with an RBI groundout in the seventh.

“We had a lot of adrenaline going, but it was a focused energy,” said Haga. “We were really pumped up, but we wanted to say within ourselves.”

Cullman faces either Pleasant Grove or Walker in the second round. The teams complete their three-game series today at noon in Pleasant Grove.

Cullman 24, Mortimer Jordan 2: The host Bearcats trailed 2-0 after half an inning before reeling off 24 unanswered runs in the opener.

Cullman pushed across five runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by Ben Moore’s three-run homer. The Bearcats added five more in the second, nine in the third and five in the fourth.

Kyle Johnson pitched three innings in the start, giving up two unearned runs on four hits. He struck out two and walked none.

Chase Mallard tossed two innings of scoreless relief, giving up one hit while striking out two.

Matthew Britton and Chase Mathis added homers for the Bearcats, while Austin Freeman drove in three runs.

Between the games, 12 seniors — including team manager Stewart Moore — were recognized for their contributions to Cullman baseball.