Bob Jones Home Run Barrage!
MADISON- The Bob Jones baseball team has set a new home run record that was set in place 20 years ago. The 2018 home run barrage now tallies 31 passing the old record of 25 set in 1998.
Jared Smith, in his third season as head coach of the Patriots, said the weight training program the squad goes through 11 months out of the year is mainly responsible for the power at the plate. “Our guys have bought into our off-season and in-season weight training program and that philosophy is paying dividends with multiple players strong enough to hit balls out of the park.”
The Patriots stand at 23-8 on the season and are ranked No. 5 in Class 7A. The efforts at the plate have been spread out among nine players hitting dingers and are led by sophomores Dylan Ray with nine and Cam Hill with seven. The remaining long ball hitters include Caden Rose (4), John Michael Riley (3), Mitchell Daly (3), Slate Alford (2), Brendan Bickleman (1), Colten Carver (1) and Ryan Crawford (1).
Not only are the Pats going long and often, but all of the homers have been hit by underclassmen, which is making Smith happy in an additional way. “We are definitely excited about our future,” added Smith.
In one three-game spurt, the Patriots hit 10 homers in two wins over East Limestone (12-8, 9-3) and a solo victory over Westminster Christian (19-0). One of the team’s goals each season is to break the school home run record. This season, the efforts of good players along with extra strength has put a new stamp on the record book with sights set even higher according to Smith.
“We would love to get in the AHSAA record book, but all of those state records were set with the old bats prior to the 2012 season, so that will be very difficult as we still need at least 65 home runs to make the record book,” said Smith. “But, we are definitely going to try.”
