Bob Jones Baseball Surge!
MADISON- The Bob Jones Patriots’ baseball team is in the midst of a huge surge a third of the way through the current schedule. In a stretch of nine games, the Patriots were 6-3 including big victories in one of the country’s premier tournaments held in Hoover. The squad entered the season as the No. 24 team in the United States and was nationally ranked in three different polls.
“The action was a good test for us at the Hoover Tournament and our defense and pitching staff did well,” said Jared Smith head coach of the Patriots.
Overall, Bob Jones is 9-3 on the season as the Pats began the current surge with a 5-4 win over Class 6A defending state champion Hazel Green. A three-run first inning propelled the squad to victory. Austin East (2-0) got the victory on the mound with relief help from both Andrew Wright and Stuart Edge. A possible game-winning diving catch by Tanner Troutt came late in the game.
Against Johns Creek Georgia, Bob Jones took a 3-1 lead before Johns Creek scored five runs in the fourth on the way to a 6-3 victory. Bob Jones racked up nine hits as Mitchell Daly and John Michael Riley had two hits each. In another tough loss, the Patriots fell to Lassiter Georgia 2-nothing. Lassiter scored its two runs on a Patriots’ error in the second inning. Riley took the tough loss with six strong innings on the mound.
Closer to home, Bob Jones defeated Decatur 3-0 with three pitchers combining for the shutout with 10 strikeouts. Sam Maynard (1-0) was the winning pitcher on record while Luke Tralongo and Stuart Edge also took to the mound.
“We’re not clicking on all cylinders as it seems like as we’re inconsistent,” said Smith. “We need to put all aspects of the game together. In Hoover we did handle the pressure of the big named teams that we faced.”
Rated as the second most difficult high school baseball tournament in the country by Maxpreps, the Perfect Game Showdown was held at the Hoover Met in Hoover. The Patriots finished with an impressive record of 3-1 against some of the best teams in the south.
Bob Jones started off with a 3-1 victory over the Sumrall (Miss.) Bobcats with a late inning rally. Austin East took the victory on the mound with a two-hitter and six strikeouts. Caden Rose not only got the save at pitcher, he also had two doubles on offense. In the tournament’s second game for Bob Jones, the Cartersville (Ga.) Hurricanes scored two runs early to hang on for the victory 2-zip. Cam Hill (1-1) took the loss despite he gave up just one earned run on three hits.
Next up was Houston County (Ga.). The Bears were suffocated by junior Nick Brown who pitched a masterful one-hitter in the 6-0 victory for Bob Jones. He struck out eight with no walks. On offense, the Pats erupted for six runs in the fifth inning.
In what many considered the most exciting game of the two-day tournament, Bob Jones trailed 5-nothing entering the fifth inning before scoring three runs to cut the lead of the Winder-Barrow (Ga.) Bulldogs. Winder-Barrow, the No. 1 ranked team in Georgia, went ahead 8-3 with three more runs in the sixth, but Bob Jones exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 9-8 victory.
Dylan Ray belted a two-out grand slam homer in the bottom of the sixth. The top recruit in the state finished the game 2 for 4 with 5 RBIs. Caden Rose recorded the last three outs of the game and picked up his third save of the season.
“It was a good test for us as it showed if we can get it all together we will be a very good team,” added Smith of the Hoover experience.
Returning back home, Bob Jones pounded out 12 hits in a 9-4 victory over Ardmore. A four-run first inning led the Patriots to the win. Numerous players shared the offensive spotlight including Mitchell Daly who powered a two-run homer in the home side of the sixth inning. Stuart Edge was the winning pitcher. Sam Maynard threw three innings of relief out of the bullpen.
