Nearly another no-no
- Updated: March 12, 2021
Baseball roundup: Donoho comes within one pitch of consecutive no-hitters; Oxford’s Higgins has big doubleheader; Ohatchee rallies past White Plains
FRIDAY’S SCORES
Donoho 8, Jacksonville Christian 2
Ohatchee 11, White Plains 4
Choccolocco Park Spring Experience
Oxford 5, Bob Jones 3
Bob Jones 5, Gadsden City 2
Oxford 12, Randolph County 2
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Donoho came within one strike of recording its second no-hitter in as many days Friday, but even without the gem the Falcons still beat Jacksonville Christian 8-2 for their third straight area victory.
The only hit the Falcons’ allowed was Cam Moses’ two-out RBI double to left field off reliever Will Folsom on an 0-2 pitch in the seventh inning.
That’s how close they came to a second straight no-no. Slade Haney pitched a five-inning no-hitter against Faith Christian the day before.
“That would’ve been neat,” Donoho coach Steve Gendron said.
The Falcons (6-2) have given up four hits during their three-game winning streak (17 innings) – all area games – since losing to eventual champion Piedmont in the Calhoun County Tournament quarterfinals.
“Any time you can run out four or five arms that you’re confident in that are going to throw strikes and keep you in a ballgame, I don’t care what classification you are, you are in good shape,” Gendron said.
Folsom pitched the final three innings after starter Judson Billings threw 73 pitches over the first four innings. All 12 outs Billings got in his outing were by strikeout. His last 20 consecutive outs have been by strikeout. He has 25 strikeouts in 10 innings this season.
“I knew I had a good bit (of strikeouts), but I didn’t know it was 12,” Billings said. “I just knew I was throwing a lot of strikes; had a lot of balls, a lot pitches in general.”
Gendron was considering lifting Haney in the fifth inning against Faith Thursday, but backed off after being told by the dugout his junior right-hander had a no-hitter going.
There was no such heads-up to stop him Friday. Even though the Falcons aren’t scheduled to play again until next Friday and Billings could have thrown as many pitches as the rules allowed, the coach went out for his starter over a lack of efficiency.
Even though he didn’t allow a hit, Billings allowed five base runners – three walks, a hit batsman and an error. The run he gave up was unearned.
“There was no conversation in regards to that (no-hitter),” Gendron said. “I told Judson if you walk another guy you’re coming out; I had Folsom ready. Judson is normally pounding the zone and he was up and down a bit erratically, which is not like him. If he wasn’t walking so many people I would let him ride. Those numbers look a lot better than what I thought he did.”
Billings understood.
“I’m not worried about a no-hitter, I’m just trying to win,” he said. “It’s a team sport. If we win, I’m happy. I thought I threw pretty good except a couple balls. I would just lose it. I’d try to do too much and once I try to do too much I start throwing balls; can’t control it. It was the best decision for the team at the time (to lift him).”
The Falcons gave Billings a 3-0 lead in the first scoring runs on Haney’s RBI ground out and two wild pitches. They added two in the fourth on Connor Goodson’s RBI double and Folsom’s run-scoring infield out, and three in the sixth on Folsom’s RBI double and a two-run double by Blake Willingham.
Oxford 5, Bob Jones 3: Trey Higgins’ second two-run homer of the game with none out in the bottom of the ninth, a shot to center in Choccolocco Park’s Signature Field, sent the Yellow Jackets to a win in their first game since falling in the Calhoun County Tournament championship game. The blast came after Sam Robertson drew a leadoff walk.
Higgins’ first homer, another shot to center in the third, matched the two-run shot Bob Jones’ Slate Alford hit in the top of the inning and tied the game. The Jackets took the lead later in the inning on R.J. Brooks’ RBI single. Higgins went 4-for-5 in the game.
Bob Jones tied the game in the fourth. Peyton Watts pitched the first five innings for Oxford, giving up three hits and striking out 11. Hayes Harrison gave up one hit over the final four innings and got the win.
Oxford 12, Randolph County 2: Trey Higgins ripped three doubles and drove in three runs, finishing the doubleheader 7-for-9 with seven RBIs.Sam Robertson had two doubles and two RBIs and Peyton Watts drove in two runs, including a sacrifice fly in a four-run fifth that ended the game.
Ohatchee 11, White Plains 4: Eli Ennis went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, including a two-run single in the middle of a seven-run fifth inning that erased a 4-3 deficit. Ennis’ big hit followed Trey Pesnell’s game-tying RBI single and Bryce Noah’s go-ahead RBI single. Konnor Baswell, Devin Howell and Brent Honaker also drove home runs in the inning.
Howell had two hits and two RBIs. Baswell pitched a complete game for the win.
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