Bob Jones turns the tables on Buckhorn; James Clemens will miss playoffs

Joe Trussell pitched the deciding game in an Area 15 win over Buckhorn
(RECORD PHOTO/LINDSAY VAUGHT)

MADISON-  Things were not looking good for Bob Jones Saturday morning. With their backs against the wall and in a must-win situation, the Patriots were facing two Buckhorn senior pitchers (Kyle Wright and Jacob Ray) who were a combined 12-1 this season.

To make matters worse, the Patriots #2 starter, Matt Sanders, couldn’t pitch due to a sprained wrist. Bob Jones’ top pitcher Grant Chandler had thrown game one Thursday night, a 5-3 loss at Buckhorn.

Bob Jones somehow shook off all the adversity and scraped out 2 runs against Wright and got an amazing pitching performance by sophomore Luke Whaley to claim a 2-0 win in game one. The win forced a deciding game three which Bob Jones won 5-1 behind Joe Trussell who pitched a complete game to get the win.

The series win puts Bob Jones firmly in control of the Area 15 race going into next weeks series against Sparkman who surprisingly lost a series to Hazel Green this weekend.

“They did a great job and really picked the team up,” Bob Jones baseball Coach David Langston said of his two pitchers after the doubleheader. “Joe has been working out of the bullpen for us and threw well against Hazel Green, threw well down in Florida and he comes in throws on that outer half, throws that breaking ball and we made some plays behind him.”

Outfielders Mike Bernier, Trammell Shepherd, and Nathan Burch all had big catches in both games. In game two, infielders Trey Ward, Matt Sanders, and Grant Chandler turned a 4-6-3 double play in the sixth inning to get Trussell out of a two on and no out jam.

“Defensively we’ve got a good club so those guys understand it’s not their job to punch out batters. It is (their job) to fill up the strike zone, make quality pitches when they are ahead in the count and let our guys defend and we’ve been able to do that,” Langston said.

Bob Jones baseball coach David Langston

Bob Jones broke the second game open with a four run third inning. Zack Duvall and Collin Dupree got on with hits and Trey Ward walked before Matt Sanders drove all three home with a triple. Grant Chandler added an RBI groundout.

Trussell fed Buckhorn a steady diet of breaking balls and while the Bucks had six hits, they couldn’t put together a rally.

In the first game, Mike Bernier faced Kyle Wright with bases loaded in the fourth inning. With two strikes, he singled in two runs. They turned out to be the game winning runs.

“All three of Buckhorn’s pitchers are good and we knew it was going to be tough to score,” Langston said. “We knew the games this weekend would be low scoring games, so we would have to defend and execute. Our pitchers did a great job of giving us an opportunity to win.”

The Thursday night loss at Buckhorn was Bob Jones’ first loss of an area game since 2011.

Meanwhile, in Area 16, James Clemens was swept by Decatur who won that area race. Florence defeated Austin and claimed the area’s final playoff spot. The Jets still have games remaining at Bob Jones on April 8 and Senior Day next Saturday against East Limestone.