General
Tuscaloosa County was forced to move its decisive game against Bob Jones to a neutral site because of soggy conditions at its own field, but that didn’t stop the rain from following and causing an almost-hour delay at the top of the second inning.
Torrential downpours and relocation was not enough to distract the heroics of Joel Gross and Dillon Dubose as the 10th-ranked Wildcats survived a 3-1 thriller over No. 2 Bob Jones in Game 3 of Monday’s already delayed Class 7A semifinal series at Spain Park.
Tuscaloosa County (32-13) lost the opener 4-3 but won consecutive games, 10-8 and 3-1, to win the best-of-three series and advance to the first state title series in program history.
“It was a tough three games against a great team,” Tuscaloosa County coach Nick Richardson said. “We fought through rain, had to come to a neutral site to play because our place was too wet, and this is a testament to how tough our team is. These guys came out and got it done.”
The Wildcats shut down the Bob Jones side in the second inning, following a lightning delay, and jumped ahead 1-0 on an RBI double from Gross. Ford Traweek and Jashaun Moten had consecutive one-out singles and the former was brought in on Gross’ hit.
Tuscaloosa County added to its advantage in the fourth as Gross brought home another run on a sacrifice fly. Brooks Mellown led off the inning with a single, but it was Traweek who scored after reaching on a fielder’s choice.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous,” Gross said. “Everybody had my back and it was awesome. You can’t replace that feeling. It was amazing.”
Bob Jones (37-12) got a lead-off double from Robert Chatmon II in the fifth, and catcher Mick Tyrell scored Chatmon on a double to cut the Wildcat advantage to 2-1. The Patriots managed only one baserunner in the final two innings.
The Wildcats added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI single from Moten, who scored Camden Barnett. Gross reached on an error with the next at-bat, but Bob Jones turned a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
“Today it’s been Joel (Gross), today Jashaun (Moten) had a big hit, there were several big hits today,” Richardson said. “It’s always someone different with this team and you never know who it’s going to be. These guys have done a great job of sticking together this season.”
Star of the Game: Dubose. The sophomore pitcher gave up 1 run off 8 hits and struck out 8 against a single walk. He was one batter shy of earning the complete-game victory but was forced to the pine due to pitch count.
“It was great. That’s a tough team, they worked all season, and we were able to outlast them. Great outing for myself. We worked all season and earned this win,” he said.
Stat sheet: Tuscaloosa County – Gross finished 1-of-2 with a pair of RBIs, and Moten was 2-of-2 with an RBI and a walk. Keller, Barnett and Brooks Mellown all finished 1-of-3 and Traweek scored 2 runs. Bob Jones – Camden Martin was 2-of-3 at the plate and was tagged with the loss after allowing 2 runs off 5 hits in 4.1 innings of work. Chatmon was 2-of-3 with a run scored, and Tyrell was 1-of-3 with an RBI.
Coachspeak: “It’s great. The community, you see all the people here, Northport showed up in Birmingham today. We’re super proud of guys, super proud of our coaches and super proud of our administration and community.” — Tuscaloosa County’s Nick Richardson
They said it: “We’re ready. We’re ready.” — Gross
“We just got to keep doing what we’re doing.” — Dubose
What’s next: Tuscaloosa County advances to face No. 3 Enterprise in the Class 7A best-of-three championship series. Game 1 is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park.
Read More