Bob Jones’ Elder signs to make it four for UA Huntsville Baseball
Madison- The UA-Huntsville baseball team will have a decidedly Bob Jones lean to it in the coming years. On Tuesday April 24, Brent Elder, a pitcher/outfielder with Bob Jones High School, became the fourth Patriot to sign a baseball scholarship with the Chargers of the Gulf South Conference.
Previously Charlie Weaver, Luke Pearce, and Austin Sanders signed with UA Huntsville.
Elder’s versatility was a big reason for the success of the Bob Jones baseball team this season. The team finished with a school record 34 victories.
As a left handed pitcher, Elder started 8 games and finished with a record of 7-0. His ERA was 2.70 and he pitched 1 shutout.
But it was his work in the outfield and at the plate that eventually elevated him to an everyday player. As the season wore on and the games became more meaningful, Elder solidified his role as the starting left fielder.
By playoff time, he was batting .378 and was second on the team in doubles. Bob Jones breezed through area play undefeated and everyone associated with the team anticipated a deep run in the playoffs. However, Elder and his teammates were unexpectedly bounced from the playoffs when they lost both ends of a doubleheader to Sparkman in the first round of the state baseball playoffs.
“We had a great team this year,” Elder said. “We had a little heartbreak Friday night, but that happens in sports. We know that when we sign up to play. We struggled with it a little bit but we’re getting better and have overcome it. It makes us better men. ”
Elder said that academics had a major role in his decision to attend UAH. He seriously considered an offer from the University of West Alabama to sign a baseball scholarship but in the end the opportunity to keep playing with three of his Bob Jones teammates won over.
“Three of my brothers signing had a lot to do with it. We’re a close knit group,” Elder said of Weaver, Sanders, and Pearce. Elder and Sanders have been playing baseball together since they were 9 years old.
“The coaches at UAH are great and they got a great program.”
“I’m majoring in biological science and UAH has a real good department,” Elder said. “I think it will get me to where I need to be to go to medical school eventually and I get the opportunity to play baseball on top of that so it’s a great situation for me.”
“They want me as a pitcher but said I would get the opportunity to play everyday in the outfield. I think both can be done effectively at the college level. It requires a lot of time management and hard work,” Elder said.
In his remarks, Elder thanked his parents for supporting him in his baseball career. He also thanked Bob Jones coach Jeff Bell.
