James Clemens’ Luke Davenport survived a thrilling pitcher’s duel to open a playoff doubleheader, but the nightcap against Bob Jones was suspended in the fifth inning due to weather in Wednesday’s Class 7A semifinal matchup in Madison.

No. 1 Bob Jones was ahead 7-1 in Game 2 when it was suspended.

Ninth-ranked James Clemens won the opener 3-1.

“We had our weather people checking it out,” Bob Jones coach Jared Smith said. “As soon as the lightning got within 10 miles, and with the inclement weather, we put it in their hands. We don’t want to put anyone at harm’s risk so we went ahead and suspended it.”

James Clemens (32-11) fell behind 1-0 in the first inning, following an RBI single from Alabama commitment Zack Johnson, but got all it needed in the fourth on an RBI sacrifice bunt from John Johnson, followed by RBI singles by Western Kentucky commitment Ty Marsh and David Sharp.

Davenport, an Auburn signee, earned the complete-game victory in the opener, allowing a run on 5 hits while striking out 6 and walking 2.

“He’s had such a tough year getting back (from an injury),” James Clemens coach Johnny Johnson said. “He’s building innings up, got started late, and he’s gotten three really good starts in a row. We’re getting the Luke we had last year back, finally.”

Bob Jones (40-8) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of Game 2 on a lead-off home run by second baseman Jacob Pearl. The Jets tied it in the bottom half of the second with an RBI single from centerfielder Sharp.

The Patriots tacked on a trio of runs in the fourth Inning with Reece Cato blasting a 3-run homer for a 4-1 lead. They jumped ahead 7-1 before ending their half of the fifth. Pearl scored on a passed ball, followed by RBI singles from Johnson and Cato.

Bob Jones starting pitcher Tanner Hermesch will not take the mound Thursday. He capped his Game 2 performance by allowing a run on 3 hits while collecting 5 strikeouts and issuing 1 walk.

“He’ll be done, but that’s fine,” Smith said. “We got a comfortable lead and we’ll figure out how we want to pitch it and finish that game off.”

Stat sheet: James Clemens – In Game 1, Satchel Wheeler was 2-of-3 with a single and double and Marsh and Sharp were both 1-of-3 with RBI singles. Johnson was 0-for-3 but batted in a run on a sacrifice bunt in the fourth. Mason Busch started on the mound in the nightcap but was chased after allowing 6 runs on 4 hits in 4 innings of work. Bob Jones – Mississippi State signee Braden Booth was tagged with the Game 1 loss but tossed a gem in allowing 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 10 batters. Gresham Baker, Cato, Johnson and Pearl were all 1-of-3 at the plate with Johnson driving in the only run of the game. In the postponed second game, Pearl had a solo home run to lead off the game and Cato belted a 3-run homer in the fourth.

Coachspeak: “I feel good about it. Just had to get momentum back on our side and we did that in that game. (James Clemens’) Luke Davenport pitched his tail off (in Game 1) so tip your hat to them. They’re playing really confident and we couldn’t buy a hit.” – Bob Jones’ Jared Smith

“It’s huge (getting the Game 1 win) because it allows us to know there’ll be three, worse-case scenario. We can pick and choose our pitching a little bit differently than if we had our back against the wall facing elimination. We got plenty of pitching left.” – James Clemens’ Johnny Johnson

What’s next: The teams will resume Game 2 at 4:30 p.m. Thursday with a decisive Game 3, if necessary, to follow 30 minutes after. The series winner advances to face fourth-ranked Central-Phenix City in the AHSAA Class 7A championship series. The Red Devils swept Auburn on Wednesday.