FAIRHOPE – Class 6A’s defending champ jumped out to an early lead but had to hold on late to advance to the second round of the AHSAA playoffs on Tuesday night.

The Fairhope Pirates defeated Baker 2-1 and will play Murphy at Baker High School today at 7:30 p.m. in a second round match. Murphy defeated Foley in the first round on Tuesday.

Fairhope (17-5-2), the 6A Section 2 champ, took a 1-0 lead at the 5:27 mark in the first half when Brandon Landau found Welles Richardson near the goal. Richardson beat Baker’s diving goalie and the Pirates had a 1-0 halftime lead.

“I thought it was just going to be a lucky break,” Richardson, a freshman, said. “Brandon (Landau) saw it and reached for it. I was lucky that the keeper and defender had a miscommunication.”

The Pirates took a 2-0 lead when Richardson hit Michael Keyser on the right side for a one-timer at 35:32 in the second.

“When we scored that second goal I really thought we had it,” Fairhope head coach Paul Straud said. “I was looking forward to the next game and getting my injured guys off the field. Then Baker scored. To Baker’s credit, that’s a hard-nosed team. They fought and fought.”

Wes Bailey headed in Baker’s goal past Fairhope keeper Eddie Adams at 19:05 in the second half.

“The wind helped (Baker) tremendously,” Stroud said. “That fit into their style of play. They were going to kick long balls into the corners and are real good up top. The wind was hard for us to judge, and it allowed them to add another 10 to 15 yards to their attack.”

Charles Henderson 2

Gulf Shores 1 (OT)

TROY – Gulf Shores lost at Charles Henderson 2-1 in penalty kicks in the first round of the 5A playoffs on Tuesday.

Cliff McGonigal had a goal in regulation for Gulf Shores. The teams tied at 1 at the end of regulation.

The Dolphins made two of four penalty kicks, while Charles Henderson went 4-for-4. Lloyd Shillabeer had two goals for Charles Henderson in the win.

Murphy 1,

Foley 0

The Murphy Panthers defeated Foley 1-0 in sudden death to advance in the 6A soccer playoffs on Tuesday.

The teams played regulation and two overtime periods before the sudden death penalty kick round. Bradley Key scored Murphy’s game-winning penalty kick.

Murphy will host defending champ Fairhope on Saturday at Baker High School at 7:30 p.m.