Chalk talks
- Updated: March 2, 2024
Seeds 5-8 join the top four in quarterfinals as the rain-delayed Calhoun County baseball tournament gets through extended first day.
Schedule changes
The two games scheduled for 3 p.m. on the pod fields have been moved to the signature field because of field conditions. Faith Christian-Ohatchee will be 5 p.m. on signature field, and Wellborn-White Plains will move to 7 p.m. on signature field.
Game updates
CALHOUN COUNTY TOURNAMENT
(All games at Choccolocco Park)
Saturday, March 2
No. 11 Jacksonville Christian 3, No. 14 Anniston 0
No. 6 Donoho 8, JCA 0
No. 12 Weaver 7, No. 13 Saks 4
No. 5 Pleasant Valley 6 Weaver 4
No. 7 Ohatchee 14, No. 10 Faith Christian 2
No. 8 White Plains 11, No. 9 Wellborn 1
Monday, March 4
No. 2 Alexandria vs. Ohatchee, 9 a.m.
No. 3 Piedmont vs. Donoho, 11 a.m.
No. 1 Oxford vs. White Plains, 1 p.m.
No. 4 Jacksonville vs. Pleasant Valley, 3 p.m.
Semifinals, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
NOTE: Championship game TBD, depending on weather. Tuesday’s forecast calls for rain.
JCA 3, ANNISTON 0: Jesse Gannaway went 3-for-3 and scored two runs, and the Thunder got RBI singles from Bryson Dowdey and Grant Daffron.
Noah Lee, Gannaway and Dowdey combined to hold Anniston to three hits … a single apiece from James Brown, Andrew Nelson and Caleb Ackles.
JCA went on to lose to Donoho 8-0 in the second round.
“I thought we played really good defense in the Anniston game,” JCA coach Tommy Miller said. “We made some plays that got us out of situations, and we looked like we knew what we were doing time or two there.
“In the Donoho game, we were shuffling people around pitch counts, and Donoho is very solid.”
DONOHO 8, JCA 0: Kai Cleckler and reliever Cash Worley combined for a one-hitter, and Donoho pounded out 12 hits to advance to Monday’s 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal against Piedmont.
Cleckler allowed no hits with six strikeouts and three walks through five innings.
“I just woke up this morning ready to pitch, and I was ready to go,” Cleckler said. “I’ve been knowing all week that I was going to go.”
Worley came on in the sixth inning and allowed one bloop single to pinch hitter Preston Strawder in the seventh.
Donoho coach Steve Gendron said the plan was to let Cleckler work three or four innings, and Cleckler went five.
“Kai pitched well,” Gendron said. “He struggled early to find the zone, and then he kind of snapped back into it. … When he’s throwing strikes, we have a good defense, so good stuff is going to happen.”
Cleckler also went 2-for-4 at the plate.
Blake Sewell led Donoho offensively, going 3-for-4 with a triple, run and two RBIs. Marcus Lawler was 2-for-4 with a triple, double, run and one RBI.
WEAVER 7, SAKS 4: Tracen Jones and Cael Fulmer drove in two runs apiece, and Weaver rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to face Pleasant Valley in a second-round game at 3 p.m.
Jacori Avery’s two-run single put Saks up 2-0 in the first inning, but Weaver scored the next seven runs. That included Jones’ two-run single in the fifth and Fulmer’s RBI single in the second and run-scoring sacrifice in the fifth.
Tucker Michaels also had an RBI for the Bearcats and got the win in relief of Landon Free, working the final 3 1/3 innings with six strikeouts and five walks.
Saks got two hits apiece from Lajuan Curry and Jayden Woods, and Woods had an RBI.
Weaver (1-3), which starts seven eighth-graders, fell to Pleasant Valley 6-4 in the second round but held the Raiders to their season-low run total. This after losing to the Raiders 15-3 on Thursday.
Easton Capps held it down on the mound, allowing 10 hits and five earned runs with three strikeouts and no walks in six innings.
“I think the fact that we already seen Pleasant Valley, and we knew we could compete better than we did Thursday against them, I thought that we wanted to show something,” Weaver coach Jeremy Harper said. “Easton Capps pitched a great game today and gave us a chance to win, and we played well behind him.
“We did things that, in the game of baseball, gave ourselves a chance, and that’s all you can ask. Even though we lost, we found wins during the course of the game.”
PLEASANT VALLEY 6, WEAVER 4: Something has been different about Pleasant Valley baseball since Dalton Turner got his battlefield promotion to head coach in 2023, and the Raiders stand one victory away from making it felt in the Calhoun County tournament.
Bryce Freeman held Weaver to two hits over six innings of work, and Holt Bentley went 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs as Pleasant Valley (5-1) beat Weaver in Saturday’s second-round Calhoun County tournament action.
The victory sends the fifth-seeded Raiders to Monday’s 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal against No. 4 Jacksonville. How long has it be since Pleasant Valley made the county semifinals in baseball?
“I’d have to go back and look,” Turner said. “I know it’s been a while. … I don’t know how long it’s been, but it would be special for this ballclub if they were able to get there.”
Memories are fresh on what’s happened since Turner became interim head coach last season. The Raiders finished 8-2, including a seven-game winning streak. Add this season’s 5-1 start, and they’re 13-3.
The Calhoun County Board of Education removed the interim tag after last season. What’s changed since Turner took over?
“Really just our attitudes,” Bentley said. “Really, a lot of us didn’t want to be there. We were just tired of baseball, because we had a lot during the season.
“Now, our attitude’s a whole lot better. We want to be here. We’re happy to be here. Everybody’s hitting well and just having a good time.”
Pleasant Valley averaged 15.2 runs before Saturday’s game. The Raiders didn’t have that kind of day at the plate against Weaver but didn’t have to because Freeman carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning.
Caleb Shew and Noah Johnson drove in two runs apiece.
Winning Monday against Jacksonville “would mean a lot, just because we’ve been putting in a lot of work this season, a LOT of work,” Bentley said. “If it finally pays off, it’s going to be nice.”
OHATCHEE 14, FAITH CHRISTIAN 2: Xavier Luna tripled while going 2-for-4 with a run and four RBIs, and Will Folsom held Faith Christian hitless through three innings.
No. 7 seed Ohatchee (3-2) advanced to Monday’s 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal against No. 2 Alexandria.
Folsom struck out seven battlers, and Lane Carter struck out four in two innings of relief.
“We pitched really well,” Ohatchee coach Kyle Parrish said. “At the end of the day, Will came in and set the tone, and then Lane came in and threw really well in relief.
“Guys had a pretty good approach at the plate, and some of our not-our-usual suspects came up big for us.”
Jakson Smith went 3-for-3 with a run and to RBIs, and Dylan Ramsey had a single and two RBIs.
Jesse Baswell singled with an RBI.
After a scoreless first inning, Ohatchee erupted for nine runs in the second. The rally featured Luna’s three-run triple, and Smith singled twice with two RBIs.
WHITE PLAINS 11, WELLBORN 1: Aiden Kilgore allowed four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks over five innings, and White Plains paired five hits with five Wellborn errors to finish off the Panthers in six innings.
The No. 8 seeded Wildcats (5-4) will play top seed and defending Class 6A state champion Oxford in Monday’s 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal
“Just like I told our kids, they’re the best team in the state for a reason,” White Plains coach Blake Jennings said. “Those guys are a really good team, but we’re excited about the opportunity. I promise you that.”
Braxxon Borelli went 2-for-3 with two runs, and White Plains got an RBI apiece from Cooper Tinney, Dalton Luker and Coleman Ray. Ray and Paul Laube each hit a double.
“Kids put the ball in play, and I thought Aiden did a really good job on the mound throwing strikes for us,” Jennings said. “At the plate, you try to put the ball in play and try to make good things happen. The kids took care of business and did what they’re supposed to.”
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