CLASS 3A PLAYOFFS: Opp sweeps St. James to advance
St. James third baseman Braylen Corley leaps high for throw as Opp's Zeb Green takes off for home during the Bobcats’ win on Friday. The Trojans were eliminated from playoff contention. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Coming off their most impressive doubleheader sweep of the season, St. James was hoping to ride that momentum to a sweep of Opp in the second round of the 3A state playoffs on Friday.
The impressive performance at Flomaton wasn’t duplicated on Friday, however, as inconsistent hitting and costly errors led to a sweep of the Trojans by the Bobcats, 7-4 and 7-2.
Opp (21-6) advances to the quarterfinals of the 3A playoffs next week at Thomasville, while the Trojans end a remarkable season at 19-13.
St. James started an emotional season by dedicating it to Carter Carroll, the ace of the pitching staff who died in a tragic hunting accident just prior to the start of the season. With another pitcher, JB Braswell, sidelined by Tommy John surgery, the Trojans suddenly found themselves minus two arms and two bats at the top of their lineup.
Injuries during the year to seniors Cole Anderson, Caden Anderson and Clint Houser also robbed the team of valuable experience and leadership at times, leaving St. James a run or two shy of the area title in a regular season finale at Prattville Christian and, at the same time, fortunate to be in the playoffs after a series upset by Alabama Christian over Montgomery Academy.
“It was the most adverse season we’ve had since I’ve been here,” St. James coach Keith Lucky said. “Number one, losing Carter Carroll, the way it happened, at the beginning of the season was a huge blow. Then it just seemed like we had so many injuries. It’s just been one of those years. For all they’ve been through and the way the season went, I’m very proud of how they persevered.”
The Bobcats were energized from the start, using back-to-back doubles by Grady Patterson and Nelson Hall in the first inning of the first game to set the tone. An unearned run in the second and two more unearned runs following St. James’ errors in the third inning put the Trojans in a 4-0 hole quickly.
“We made some early mistakes, we had some situations where we had some outs to be had and threw the ball away,” Lucky said. “We just weren’t sharp. We just didn’t have a good day. Everything they did was right. They played outstanding defense, the pitchers got up there and pounded the strike zone. They made us put the ball in play and they made the plays.”
While Charlie Cutler and Tabor Offord had solid outings for the Trojans on the mound, the defense behind them was inconsistent and the batting rarely produced, going 3 for 17 with runners in scoring position.
Game One starter Colby Ballard went seven innings, allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Game Two starter Cash Harrell went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on one hit while walking three and striking out four. He left the game with two outs in the seventh, one pitch from a complete game, after hitting three batters in the seventh to force in a run.
“They kept us off balance at the plate,” Lucky said. “They knew when to throw their off speed, their fastballs. It wasn’t like they were throwing it by us, they were just keeping us off balance where we couldn’t get the barrel of the bat on the ball as frequently as we would have liked to. And when we did, they were there.”