Bob Jones, Madison Academy hit the beach; James Clemens, Sparkman head west
ORANGE BEACH – As Bob Jones nears the midway point of the baseball regular season, the Patriots can start thinking about their Class 7A, Area 8 schedule that determines playoff berths.
Before that, however, the Patriots are enjoying some time, and adding wins, in South Alabama while playing in the Gulf Coast Class in Orange Beach, Foley and Robertsdale.
The Patriots, coming off a 7A state championship in 2024, appear to have picked up where they left off last season so far in 2025. Bob Jones went 4-1 in tournament preliminaries and were 15-5 heading into the semifinals at Orange Beach.
Wins have been over St. George Independent, Walker Valley, University School of Jackson and Christ Presbyterian. The lone loss was to Green Hill.
“It’s tough to make the finals down here. You can’t give up many runs,’’ Bob Jones head coach Jared Smith said. “We’re pitching it really well. Offensively, you know, we’ve just been slightly inconsistent. But, you know, overall when we’re hitting, playing good defense. We’re in really good shape.
“It’s still early, but we like where we are now. Our pitching staff has done a great job. The team ERA now is about 2.3, so they’re pitching it really well. We’ve got a lot of guys playing well. (Seniors) Dillon Adkins, Zack Johnson are crushing the baseball. So far, so good.’’
Johnson is the reigning state Class 7A Hitter of the Year. Anchoring the pitching staff is senior Tanner Hermesch, last season’s No. 2 and now the ace. He’s posted a 5-0 record with a miniscule .759 ERA.
After the Gulf Coast swing, the Patriots will play Lincoln County at Toyota Field on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The first split-site series of three in 7A, Area 8 begins Friday, April 4 against Austin in Madison before moving to Decatur for the final two games.
Mustangs on coast: Madison Academy also traveled south to play in the Gulf Coast Classic and were 3-1 following a 3-0, complete-game shutout by Jaiden Etienne over Heritage (Tenn.). The Mustangs also defeated University School of Jackson and White County, while losing to Memphis University School, all from Tennessee.
Madison Academy, ranked No. 1 among the Alabama’s 5A teams by MaxPreps, improved to *13-3 after Etienne’s gem but didn’t advance to bracket play.
Following spring break, the Mustangs visit Mary G. Montgomery Saturday before wading into 5A, Area 16 action at Ardmore on Tuesday. The three-game series shifts to Madison Academy for two games Thursday.
Jets in the ’sip: Streaking James Clemens, which plays Huntsville at Toyota Field on Saturday, March 22, traveled to host Corinth, Miss., to play in this weekend’s Spring Break Classic coming on the heels of a tournament championship in Tennessee.
The Jets were set to take on North Pontotoc (Miss.) today at Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville. In neighboring Corinth, James Clemens will play Corinth and Lexington (Tenn.) on Friday and Munford (Tenn.) on Saturday.
James Clemens won four straight games to take the Jim Painter Tournament at Independence, Tenn., and swept the host and three other Volunteer State teams – Summit, Nolandsville and Brentwood – to improve to *9-5.
Sparkman heads west: Meanwhile, Sparkman is also on a four-game winning streak, taking home games from Florence, Sipsey Valley and University School of Nashville before heading to the Magnolia State to play in Corinth’s tournament.
The Senators (8-6) were set to play Caledonia (Miss.) and Lexington (Tenn.) today at Corinth, then move to Northeast Mississippi CC on Friday to face West Union and Christian Brothers. Saturday in Corinth they play Munford.
Sparkman will then play at Lincoln County Monday, before hosting Austin on Tuesday and Buckhorn on Thursday.
* Records based on results taken from MaxPreps.com.
