By Staff
Danny Nichols
For the Record
The Bob Jones Patriots Varsity Baseball Team is off to a good start this year.
The Patriots have seven returning seniors that form the nucleus of the team. There are 11 juniors on the team, some which are starters and the remainder providing the team with important depth. The new head coach, Al Rauls, has the team practicing and playing hard in hopes for returning to the state playoffs this year.
The Patriots opened up the season by playing in the Al Smith Tourney during the third week of February. The team came away with two wins and one loss, made it to the finals, and was set to play Hazel Green for the championship. However, rain won out and the championship game was cancelled.
Bob Jones opened the regular season by travelling to Jasper to take on Walker in a doubleheader. They won the first game and lost the second. Since that time Bob Jones has wins against Decatur, Scottsboro, Sparkman, Grissom, East Limestone, and Minor.
This past week had Austin visiting the Patriots for another important regional game. The regional games are what determine which teams go the state playoffs. Bob Jones brought a perfect 3-0 regional record into the contest. Unfortunately, Austin came out on top winning 7-5. Bob Jones appeared to have the game under control until Austin rallied late and went ahead with a three run homer.
Bob Jones hosted Minor this past Friday night in another important regional contest. The Patriots came away with a 7-0 victory to improve their overall record to 9-3 and their regional record to 4-1 for the year. Josh Hester was the winning pitcher as he struck out eight batters, gave up five hits, and allowed no runs. The leading hitters were Chris Cooper who went 3 for 4 and Troy Erickson who were 2 for 3.