Thursday baseball: Alexandria routs Jacksonville; Oxford wins in seventh; Munford spins no-hitter; Piedmont, Cleburne County win big; Donoho drops opener
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Alexandria 17, Jacksonville 1
Appalachian 10, Donoho 4
Cleburne County 18, White Plains 3
Munford 10, Pleasant Valley 0
Ohatchee 14, Weaver 1
Piedmont 14, Ranburne 4
Etowah County Tournament
Hokes Bluff 19, Gaston 3
Sardis 5, Hokes Bluff 5
Sardis 22, Gaston 1
Perfect Game Showdown, Hoover
Oxford 2, Bayside Academy 1
By Al Muskewitz
JACKSONVILLE – Alexandria and Jacksonville were playing for the second time this season in a potential preview of the Calhoun County Tournament semifinals. This one was decided in the first inning.
The Valley Cubs won 17-1 and the difference was what happened in the first. Alexandria, installed as the No. 2 seed in the County Tournament that starts Friday, loaded the bases with no outs and wound up scoring five runs. Jacksonville, the third seed in the tournament, loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning, but managed only one run
“Maybe we’re learning something,” Valley Cubs coach Andy Shaw said. “We had this done to us the other day with Etowah and Gadsden City. We were not very productive on the mound and it started the game off in a bad situation and it kind of snowballed on us.
“I hope we’re stopping the snowball effect. That’s what we’re trying to do, because you know how baseball is. You’re going to have some mistakes, you’re going to have some things, but you can’t let it build and I thought we did a good job of that the first inning.”
Ty Brown capped the big opening inning with a three-run double. The Cubs also got a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring hit batsman with the bases loaded in the inning.
And they continued to pour it on. They built a 10-1 lead after three innings and then broke it wide open with seven in the fifth. They got run-scoring hits from consecutive pinch-hitters Evan Snow, Tanner Bedford and Tucker Kilgore and Deshaun Foster in the inning.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys who can play and they’re all very similar,” Shaw said. “We’re playing a lot of guys right now. We may need them.”
They did on this day. The game got off to a disturbing start for the Valley Cubs as leadoff man Seth Johnson was a late scratch after hurting his back in warmups. His replacement, junior Van Hall, hit in the nine-hole and delivered hits in each of his first two at-bats and had a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
“He came in and took advantage of his opportunity,” Shaw said.
OXFORD 2, BAYSIDE ACADEMY 1: Florida football signee Miguel Mitchell snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-out infield RBI single in the top of the seventh to lift the Yellow Jackets to an opening-round victory in the Perfect Game National High School Showdown in Hoover.
Mitchell also pitched 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief into the seventh. He gave way to R.J. Brooks, who got the last two outs on five pitches and picked off a runner at first to end the game.“It’s weird, you never walk off the game on a pickoff,” Oxford coach Wes Brooks said. “Yesterday was the second day we worked on all of our picks and this one is my dad up above; he taught us when we were playing at Wellborn. We call it ‘Sunshine.’
“Our assistant coach back then (Tim Scruggs), my dad’s best friend, was watching us and when he saw it he said I was thinking about your dad. It worked in 2010 at Fort Payne. It worked in 2011 at home against Huntsville. And it worked today.
“It doesn’t work all the time, but you’ve got to have it in your back pocket for the right situation. You can practice it all you want, but players have to execute it. Hats off to the players for the execution.”
The Jackets trailed 1-0 and tied the game in the sixth when Sam Robertson raced home on a passed ball.
Oxford will play Central-Phenix City in the second round 6 p.m. Friday; the Red Devils one-hit Magnolia Heights (Miss.), 2-0. Carter Johnson and Payton Watts are expected to be the Jackets’ pitchers.
The Oxford-Central winner will play either Loganville or Russellville at 8:30 p.m., with that winner going to the Blue Bracket finals Saturday at 2 p.m. The Jackets are scheduled to make their 2022 Calhoun County Tournament debut in Choccolocco Park at 4
MUNFORD 10, PLEASANT VALLEY 0: Connor Morgan drove in three runs and Luke Carson and Kyler Gibson combined on a five-inning no-hitter. Tyler Stephens and Graham Callahan both had two hits for the Lions.
OHATCHEE 14, WEAVER 1: Bryce Noah hit a two-run double and Jake Roberson a two-run single in back-to-back at bats to highlight an eight-run second inning that broke the game open.
Noah went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. Devin Howell (two hits), Roberson and Colby Hester drove in two runs apiece. Three Ohatchee pitchers held Weaver to two hits – both singles by Devin Anderson.
PIEDMONT 14, RANBURNE 4: Noah Reedy had three hits and five RBIs to lead Piedmont’s 12-hit attack, Max Hanson went 3-for-3 with four runs and three RBIs, Jack Hayes had three hits and Brodey Brothers had three RBIs. Brodie Homesley pitched the first three innings, then gave way to four relievers who each got an inning.
CLEBURNE COUNTY 18, WHITE PLAINS 3: Cole McElroy homered, doubled and drove in four runs to highlight the Tigers’ 15-hit attack. Eight of the nine Cleburne County starters had a hit, with six having two or more. Matthew Brown and Brody Gaines each drove in two runs. Miles Austin drove in two runs for White Plains.
APPALACHIAN 10, DONOHO 4: The Falcons’ season opener didn’t get off to a good start, but once they settled down, they found their footing.
Appalachian hit a leadoff homer in the first and scored all 10 of its runs in the first two innings, then Donoho relievers Judson Billings and Peyton Webb held it to two hits and struck out 10 the rest of the game. Webb struck out seven in his three innings.
The Falcons scored their first run on a wild pitch in the fourth and added three in the fifth on Slade Haney’s two-run double and Lucas Elliott’s sacrifice fly. [*** read more]
