Apr. 19—Olsen Howard was on a mission.

After being upset in the first round of the playoffs last season, Howard was determined that it wouldn’t happen a second time. Even if that meant he had to win it all himself.

“I was prepared to do whatever it took to win,” Howard said.

Decatur Heritage did indeed right the wrongs of last season, dominating Cedar Bluff 20-4 and 10-0 to earn the sweep Friday in the first round of the playoffs.

Howard didn’t need to win it on his own, but he probably could have.

In the first game, Howard blasted three home runs in the first two innings and finishing with nine RBIs. He followed that up by picking up the win on the mound in the second game, allowing two hits and no runs with six strikeouts.

“After last year, I’ve been locked in. All I could think of all year was getting back to the playoffs and take what’s ours,” Howard said. “Today I came out ready to swing, and after I got that first one, it kind of broke the ice.”

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Decatur Heritage 20, Cedar Bluff 4: Decatur Heritage head coach Steve Meek has seen a lot through his many years of coaching baseball, but even he said Howard’s three-homer performance in Game 1 was a first for him.

“I’m sure it’s been done in high school baseball, but I’ve never seen it personally,” Meek said. “I’ve never seen it in two innings and three-straight, that’s for sure.”

“He’s got a beautiful swing. He generates a lot of power, and he continues to find ways to surprise me,” Meek added.

Decatur Heritage scored 10 runs in the first inning and built a 20-0 lead by the end of the third.

Paxton Tarver got the win, allowing four hits and four runs with 10 strikeouts, while also adding a hit and four RBIs. Brady Wilson added two hits and three RBIs.

After hitting three home runs in his first three at-bats, Howard had a fourth at-bat, though it ended with him reaching base on an error. Howard said he was surprised he was even pitched to.

“The first pitch was middle-middle, but I laid off because I really thought it was going to come at my head,” Howard said. “I thought I was going to get walked or thrown at for sure, especially after the bat flip on my last home run.”

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Decatur Heritage 10, Cedar Bluff 0 : Decatur Heritage scored six runs in the fourth inning to blow open a 2-0 game and take the series.

“We hit the ball well today. We hit home runs, we walked, we stole bases, we pitched well and we made some great plays in the field,” Meek said. “We played about as well as we could’ve asked for this series.”

Ford Sparkman had an hit and three RBIs, while Paxton Tarver had two hits, two RBIs and scored two runs. Dylan Germany added a hit and two RBIs.

Decatur Heritage will be on the road next week for the second round of the playoffs, traveling to take on Red Bay.

— caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2