Top Ranked Bob Jones Baseball Revels During Spring Break
MADISON- The Bob Jones baseball team used 24 different players in 12 games within a nine-day stretch including eight contests as part of Spring Break. The Class 7A top ranked team in Alabama (21-5) began the break with two on the road double-header victories over both Athens and Madison Academy. Then, the Patriots loaded up the bus and make their own road trip to South Alabama.
“I thought we started to really gel together as a team during Spring Break as it took a lot of players to contribute playing that many games in a short period of time,” said Jared Smith head coach of Bob Jones. “At the beach, we played six games in three days at five different locations.”
First stop was in Daphne, located on the east shores of Mobile Bay, where the Patriots pounded the host Trojans 14-4. With homeruns by Colten Carver, Stuart Edge, John Michael Riley and Caden Rose, plus five innings of super pitching by Edge, Bob Jones put the game out of reach with four runs in the fifth inning.
The Pats then traveled a few miles north to face the Toros of Spanish Fort, who scored six runs in the third inning to pull away from the visiting Pats for an 11-8 win. Edge and Riley each had homers in the losing effort.
After the loss, Bob Jones then traveled across the Bay to face St. Paul’s of Mobile. The Patriots tallied five runs in the third inning and Cam Hill earned the victory on the mound in a 15-4 win over the Saints. Mitchell Daly led the Patriots 15-hit barrage with three hits of his own.
Remaining in Mobile, the Patriots faced the UMS-Wright Bulldogs and took the 7-4 victory with two outs in the last inning. The Pats posted four runs to escape with a victory. Riley was 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the squad to victory.
Next up with a scheduled double header versus McGill-Toolen, the host Yellow Jackets of Mobile took the opener 6-4 as the hosts scored late to earn the win. Austin East took the loss pitching six strong innings while Rose was 2-for-3 at the plate. In the second game, a battle to end as Bob Jones came away with an 11-9 victory. The Pats entered the last inning trailing by one and were down to their last out before Rose, Hill and Ray hit three consecutive double to give the squad a two-run lead. Rose was the winning pitcher in the game that featured 25 hits between the two teams.
After traveling back home after the trip to the Gulf Coast, the Patriots hosted two games. The first contest was against the Lawrence County Red Devils where Bob Jones posted a 14-3 win. Rose hit an opening inning long ball before the squad exploded for seven runs in the third inning. Three dingers, one each by Daly, Hill and Rose led the Patriots’ offense. Hill was 3-for-4 at the plate.
To conclude the long stretch of games, Bob Jones defeated the Etowah Blue Devils 8-2. Hill started the power offense with a two-run homer in the first inning. Daly added another dinger in the sixth inning. Luke Tralongo picked up the victory tossing four innings.
“I’m really proud of our team for the way we responded in our games with both UMS-Wright and McGill-Toolen,” said Smith. “We were down to our final out. It took guts and heart to win those kinds of games, especially two in two days. Our bats also started to heat up as we hit 15 home runs throughout the week.”
