Bob Jones’ Booth named “All-Area Player of the Year”; Patriots, Jet pack the picks for top spots
Bob Jones head coach Jared Smith (Right) was named the All Area Coach of the Year. Smith talks to James Clemens head coach Johnny Johnson before a game.
By Caleb Odom (caleb@themadisonrecord.com)
MADISON – The All-Area Baseball list was released last week, and it was loaded down with Bob Jones and James Clemens representatives.
The Patriots ended up being recognized in six different categories while the Jets claimed seven spots.
Bob Jones head coach Jared Smith was named the All-Area Coach of the Year for his strong season at the helm of the Patriots, while his third baseman and pitcher Braden Booth was selected as the Player of the Year.
Booth was also selected as the All Area third baseman for his offensive prowess in 35 plate appearances where the junior collected three doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs with a .517 batting average.
“I thought we were well represented, and our guys definitely deserved it after a perfect area record,” Smith said.
“I think you could even argue for a couple more guys to make the list as well.”
The Patriots’ senior pitcher Sam Mitchell was named the Pitcher of the Year for his 3-0 Area record that consisted of 21 innings where the ace struck out 38 batters and ended up with an 0.33 ERA.
For James Clemens, their ace on the mound Luke Davenport, was one of three pitchers selected for All Area honors.
The Jets right hander struck out 25 in his 18 innings and out of the four arms recognized in this list, Davenport ended up with lowest average for the batters he faced at a mark of .153.
The other two pitchers named on the list were Bob Jones pitcher Ben Arn and Mac Etheredge from Austin.
Arn was 3-0 and collected 16 strikeouts to earn his way onto the list for the Patriots.
Other than Braden Booth a third base, James Clemens locked down the infield for the All-Area list.
The Jets had reliable play from their senior shortstop Andrew Lawrence, second baseman Francisco Ramirez, first baseman Satchel Wheeler and catcher Colten Payton.
Ramirez was a nightmare for opponents as the second baseman snagged 13 stolen bases, 5 RBIs and 11 runs scored for James Clemens.
“They are all very deserving and had great outings during area play,” James Clemens head coach Johnny Johnson said.
“Even more exciting is five of the seven will return in 2024, and the two seniors will be representing the Jets in college baseball.”
The three players selected to the All-Area outfield were Austin’s Bryson Claiborne, Bob Jones’ CJ Bush and James Clemens’ Aidan Cook.
The right fielder Bush stood above the others with his four doubles, 9 RBIs and 12 runs scored for the Patriots.
The last slot of the list went to the James Clemens designated hitter Ty Marsh who returned from an elbow injury to punish area pitchers with 8 RBIs.
