Cullman needed every last ounce of energy, grit, strength and willpower to reach the postseason during a rollercoaster 2016 campaign.

On Thursday afternoon, however, the Class 6A No. 2 Bearcats took a much more direct route to the playoffs — one, certainly, that was much less stressful for coach Brent Patterson and his Black and Gold program.

Will Morrison threw a four-hit shutout, Owen Lovell put together a nice day at the plate and the Bearcats defeated Albertville 7-0 during the first game of a home doubleheader to clinch a spot in the postseason for a 17th consecutive year.

Cullman won the nightcap over the Aggies 7-0 to improve to 23-6 overall and 6-0 in area play.

“Going through what we did last year made us better this year,” Patterson said. “Guys are learning how to trust themselves and accept failure, which comes from a growth in our maturity. They’re giving themselves a break … understanding there’s going to be a tomorrow. With that said, it’s a lot nicer to have it out of the way. We hope to have seven more weeks of baseball. In seven weeks, there’s a lot of improvements you can make as a team. We’re going to worry about getting better every day.”

The Black and Gold didn’t get on the board until the third inning, when Wheeler Eastman led off with a single — he was soon replaced on the bags by Hayden Henderson — before Noah Fondren (single), Owen Lovell (double) and Jacob Heatherly (single) drove in runs with crucial base knocks to gift their squad a 3-0 cushion.

Lovell added a two-run double in the fifth frame prior to a run-scoring single by Heatherly and a sacrifice fly by Trent Price.

The seven-run advantage was more than enough for Morrison, who struck out eight hitters and allowed only five balls to reach outfield grass during his masterful performance on the mound. The only trouble he encountered — runners at second and third with one out in the second frame — was quickly eradicated with a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.

“My main goal is to fill it up and let my defense play behind me,” Morrison said. “I had a lot of confidence today, so it made things easier out there for me. Last year was a dogfight to get into the playoffs. This year, we got it done early. Now we can play loose, without all the pressure, and do what we are good at going forward.”

For Patterson, he was mostly happy with how his group pitched it, hit it and defended it throughout the contest.

“We made some adjustments at the plate the second time through,” he said. “It wasn’t the best day for hitters because of the wind. Will was moving it all over the place and throwing strikes. The guys really enjoy playing behind him. He’s been tremendous for us this year.”

Lovell went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs, while Heatherly (two hits and two RBIs), Price (one hit and one RBI) and Fondren (one hit and one RBI) did their part to ensure a ho-hum triumph.

Carter Bowen, Weston Norton, Taylor and Eastman tallied one hit apiece as well.

% Cullman 7, Albertville 0: Kade Williams flabbergasted the Aggies on the mound, striking out 10 batters and allowing only two hits in his complete game effort on Thursday night.

Cooper Beck (two hits), Grayson Taylor (one hit and two RBIs), Will Morrison (one hit and two RBIs), Carson Freeman (one hit and one RBI), Weston Norton (one hit and one RBI), Hayden Henderson (one hit), Noah Fondren (one hit) and Caleb Lipsey (one hit) dished up plenty of offense for the Bearcats. Peyton Colvard also tallied an RBI.