Photo courtesy of Average Joe’s Sports Talk
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/ManagingEditor
The Glencoe High baseball team’s season came to an end on Thursday, April 18 in Rogersville.
The Yellow Jackets fell to third-ranked Lauderdale County, 5-4, 4-1, in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs to end the year with a 16-18 record.
Game 1 went extra innings, with Miles Edwards’ walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth putting the Yellow Jackets in an 0-1 hole in the series.
Glencoe jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Jayden Patton’s two-out base hit plated Jake Boggs and Aiden Johnson.
The Tigers (21-4) responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by Edwards.
The Yellow Jackets went ahead 4-1 in the top of the second by way of Jace White’s score off an error and Trent Rowell’s steal of home. The lead did not last long, as Edwards and Justin Slaton both drove in a run in the bottom of the inning to tie it at 4-4.
Neither team scored again until Edwards’ game-winning hit.
“Our guys fought tooth and nail, and it came down to [Lauderdale County] having one more hit in the end than we did,” said Glencoe head coach Dillon Terry. “But I’m very proud of how we competed against a very good team.”
Glencoe starter Brady Kitchens (pictured above) allowed only six baserunners from the bottom of the second until the bottom of the ninth, none of whom reached third base. He scattered eight hits, three earned runs and one walk while striking out eight.
“Brady pitched his tail off all season and gave us a chance to win every time he went out there,” said Terry. “The Edwards kid is going to hit no matter who is pitching against him, and Brady did a great job of limiting their other guys for the most part.”
Patton went 2-for-4 with two RBI in Game 1, while Rowell, Johnson and White each had a hit and a run scored.
In Game 2, Glencoe managed only three hits off Slaton, who went six innings for the win. He struck out three and did not issue a walk.
“[Slaton] and Edwards seem to be the driving force for [Lauderdale County],” said Terry. “[Slaton] is a competitive kid who pitched a heck of a game.”
The Yellow Jackets’ lone run came in the bottom of the second inning on Bryce Borntrager’s RBI groundout. Rowell, Patton and Brayden Smith each had a hit for Glencoe.
Thursday was Glencoe’s first appearance in the postseason since 2019.
“I think the biggest thing for this group was gaining the confidence it takes to make the playoffs,” said Terry. “We beat some good teams this year like Hokes Bluff, Westbrook and Southside, which were the games that we didn’t take care of business over the past couple of years. I told our guys [after Game 2] that at the bare minimum, this will be the standard for the program going forward, and I think our younger guys are ready to step forward and accept that challenge.”