James Clemens Falls In Baseball Playoffs; Bob Jones Advances
Trussville, AL.- The James Clemens baseball season came to an abrupt end as the fearless Jets marched through the 2018 season making waves across the state before being swept by Hewitt-Trussville in the quarterfinals of the Class 7-A baseball playoffs. The Huskies (30-9) defeated the visiting Jets 11-6, 6-0 to advance to the semi-finals.
“We knew going into the series it would be a tall task for us to come away with a win and it just wasn’t James Clemens’ night,” said Cory Hamrick head coach of James Clemens. “We had many miscues and walks and if you give great teams those chances they’ll take advantage, and they did.”
Senior Colin Brown was 2-for-3 including a three-run homer and freshman Connor Cantrell was 2-for-3 with a two-run double to lead the Jets’ offense in the opening game, but Laken Lansdell was rocked on the mound giving up eight runs to the Huskie before leaving the contest. The game was close until the home team Huskies scored the majority of their runs midway through the game.
In the second game, a must-win matchup for the Jets, James Clemens could muster only two hits while Auburn signee Carson Skipper blasted a grand slam homerun to propel the Huskies to the shutout win, sweep and advancement to the semi-finals. Skipper had a triple and double to go along with the slammer in the series. Hamrick said he knew Skipper could be the player that would take control and he did.
“They had a massive crowd on hand and it was a very loud environment and that was great for us to experience,” added Hamrick in his second season as head coach. “Our senior class set the bar high for our program for a long time to come. Our entire school was very supportive of our program.”
James Clemens ends the season at 26-17-1 after not breaking the .500 mark a season ago. The Jets were loaded with 15 seniors and will need to grow in senior numbers next season, but those returning will have the experience of a second-round playoff to assist in the age of the team in 2019.
“This team was mediocre a year ago and they always came back from adversities this season and I am very proud of what we did this year,” said Hamrick. “This team, especially our seniors, made memories that will last forever.”
Should the Jets had won against Hewitt-Trussville, a dream matchup against crosstown rival Bob Jones would have occurred as the Patriots swept Huntsville 15-7 and 11-3 to advance to the final four of the AHSAA State Baseball Playoffs. Instead, Bob Jones (36-12) will host Hewitt-Trussville in the semi-finals May 11-12.
