Cullman and Hartselle, to no one’s surprise, went toe-to-toe on Friday night.

In the end, however, the home team was simply too good.

The Class 6A No. 2 Bearcats kicked off their first-round series with a 5-3 victory versus their longstanding rival before eliminating the Tigers with a 4-1 triumph in the nightcap at Bill Shelton Field. The Black and Gold (28-8) has now won 17 consecutive opening-round playoff series dating back to 2002.

Cullman trailed 1-0 in the sixth inning of the second contest before Weston Norton tied things up with a clutch RBI double.

Coach Brent Patterson’s squad finally seized control of the game in the eighth inning.

After Norton put the Bearcats up 2-1 with a sacrifice fly, Will Morrison followed with a key two-run single — he fouled off the previous four pitches — to make it 4-1, all but sucking the life out of the visiting team.

Morrison also pitched well, scattering eight hits and six strikeouts in eight innings of work. He induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the series and send his team into celebration mode.

Morrison (two hits and two RBIs), Norton (one hit and two RBIs) and Cooper Beck (two hits) were the top offensive contributors.

In the opening clash, Grayson Taylor broke a 0-0 tie with a three-run homer in the fourth inning off Hartselle’s Garrett Wade. The long blast came on the first pitch of the at-bat after Peyton Colvard coaxed a two-out walk. Cooper Beck singled to lead off the frame.

The latter also tallied an RBI single in the fifth inning to make it 4-0 — he advanced to third on a fielding error — and later scored on a passed ball to put his team up by five runs. Beck accounted for two of the Black and Gold’s three hits.

Michael Myers had a nice outing on the mound, scattering five hits and three strikeouts in his complete game.

The Tigers made it interesting in the seventh inning — they picked up three runs and sent the tying run to the plate — but Myers escaped the jam following a harmless groundout.

Cullman will take on No. 10 Athens or Pell City in a second-round matchup next week.

For now, though, the Bearcats will enjoy the moment.

Hartselle, meanwhile, ends its season with a 22-15 record.

% West Point 12, Pleasant Grove 2: The Warriors secured a Game 2 win on Friday to sweep the Spartans and advance to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs for the first time in school history.

West Point (21-13) plated eight runs in the fifth inning to get the job done.

Sam Briehn stroked an RBI single in the first frame.

Kolton Easterwood had a two-run single in the second inning and an RBI groundout in the fourth frame.

Rylan Jones (RBI double), Cameron Bates (two-run double), Will Franklin Cochran (RBI single), Easterwood (sacrifice fly), McDonald (RBI single) and Briehn (RBI double) all contributed solid at-bats in the decisive fifth.

The Warriors will host Mortimer Jordan or Clay-Central next week in a second-round series.

% West Point 3, Pleasant Grove 2: The Warriors picked up a Game 1 victory in Friday’s first-round series.

Matthew McDonald pitched a complete game and also provided a two-run single in the fifth inning.

West Point’s other run came on a throwing error in the second frame.

% Mars Hill Bible 15, Cold Springs 3: The Eagles saw their season come to a close on Friday following a tough loss in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Class 2A No. 1 Panthers.

Mars Hill Bible notched six runs in the fifth inning and six runs in the sixth frame to blow the game open and send Cold Springs (8-23) into the offseason.

Brylan Aaron (RBI) and Jake Abbott tallied two hits apiece, while Lawson Burgess, Brooks Stephenson and Dylan Gable provided one hit apiece. Logan Rice added an RBI.

% Mars Hill Bible 11, Cold Springs 0: The Eagles lost Game 1 of Friday’s first-round series in five innings.

Ayden Alexander, Logan Rice and Brodi Williams provided one hit apiece for Cold Springs.