Tuscaloosa is famously known as "Title Town", thanks to its association with the University of Alabama, which boasts a storied sports program. This is especially true for football, where the team has claimed 17 national championships and has been led by two of the greatest coaches in the sport's history: Paul "Bear" Bryant and Nick Saban. However, this time, the focus is on high school baseball in the town.

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On Monday, Tuscaloosa County High School (32-13) punched its ticket to Oxford for the school’s first 7A AHSAA state championship appearance in baseball where they will face ENterprise (26-1-1) after the Wildcats defeated the defending state champions, Bob Jones, 3-1 in game three after splitting games one and two to start the series last Friday. This made County High the second school that will represent the county of Tuscaloosa in the AHSAA State finals.

American Christian Academy (30-12-1) is the second team that will be representing the county in the state this week with the Patriots punching its ticket to the 5A AHSAA State Championship series where they will face St.Paul's Episcopal (17-7) in the program’s first year in 5A after making the jump from 4A, after taking the Final Four series 2-1 over Madison County last Friday to bring the Patriots one step closer to completing its redemption tour with the team falling short last season in the 4A AHSAA state championship game after dropping games two and three against Corner.

This will be the second consecutive year that Tuscaloosa has had two teams competing in the AHSAA Baseball State Championship Series, with American Christian Academy and Hillcrest appearing in the state finals for the 2024 season. Hillcrest was named the 6A AHSAA Baseball state champs after defeating Hartselle in the 6A state championship series 2-1, while ACA fell 2-1 to Corner in the 4A state championship series after losing Game two in walkout fashion, and then being blown out 13-0 in Game three.

The two teams representing Tuscaloosa in this year’s AHSAA State championship series have two different stories: ACA making its second consecutive appearance in the championship series, while Tuscaloosa County, who is a seventh seed in the 7A bracket, picked up its first playoff series win in school history during this playoff run, being led by pitchers Tate Pettus (junior), Dillion Dubose (sophomore), and Ford Traweek (junior). This run has seen the Wildcats hold multiple teams to low-scoring numbers throughout the playoffs.

ACA, the number one overall seed in the 5A bracket, has been eager all season to redeem itself after last year’s performance. In the first round of this year’s playoffs, the Patriots faced Corner, resulting in a rematch of the 2024 4A State Championship series. The Patriots completed a series sweep against Corner to advance to the next round.

The team is led by Alabama's class of 2025 commit Eric Hines, who is ranked as the number two recruit in Alabama according to Perfect Game USA and Prep Baseball Report. Throughout this season, Hines, a senior center fielder, has been instrumental in the team's success, hitting 19 home runs, five of which have come during this playoff run.

One thing these teams do have in common is the message both coaches are preaching, which is just to focus on one game at a time. With Tuscaloosa County’s head coach Nick Richardson telling WVUA 23 that “The goal for every game is to play for another week with each other, and they really bought into that. Another bus ride, another meal together, another practice, another workout in the weight room,"

ACA’s head coach, Del Howell, shares a similar message with his team and Hines, who spoke to WVUA 23 about the guidance from the Patriots' head coach. Hines stated, "Win that game and then move on to the next. Don't focus on the future; just worry about the present. That’s what Coach Howell emphasizes to us all the time: Stay focused and control what you can control."

Both coaches have been with their teams for multiple years, with Howell being the head coach of ACA for the last six seasons, while Richardson has been at Tuscaloosa County for the past four seasons. Both coaches are looking to win their first state championships with their respective programs this upcoming week.

Below is when, where, and what time the two teams are scheduled to play in the best-of-three championship series.

ACA

Game One: Thursday, May 15, 11:00 a.m. @ Choccolocco Park (Oxford, Alabama)
Game Two: Friday, May 16, 10:00 a.m. @ Jacksonville St. (Jacksonville, Alabama)
Game Three (if necessary): Friday, May 16, TBA @ Jacksonville St.