Patriots Fall to West

Opening day resulted in a tough loss for the Jefferson County Patriots as they began their season against Morristown West. A pitcher’s duel persisted through the first 6 innings as Jefferson County’s Matt Bradley went toe to toe with Will Heflin, a current junior who has committed to the University of Tennessee.

The Patriots had a chance to score early in the game. In the 3rd inning Dalton Morgan drew a walk then stole second base. With leadoff slugger, Logan Hayes, at the plate, Morgan was picked off in a run down between second and third base, ending the scoring threat.

As sophomore pitcher Bradley exited the game after pitching 5 2/3 of scoreless baseball, he left the Patriots in an excellent position to win the game. Coach Gaines Cox said, “Matt gave us exactly what we needed today.” Senior pitcher Brandon Bingle entered in relief and got out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the Trojans scoreless.

A little life was shown as Hayes roped a double into right field. Next at the plate was 3rd baseman Silver Mungia, who laid a sacrifice bunt down 3rd baseline: Morristown West pitcher Will Heflin fielded the ball and threw Hayes out at 3rd base, ending the Patriots’ scoring threat.

The Patriots came back swinging in the bottom of the 7th, when senior Eli Devotie led off with a double off the center field wall. Two batters later, sophomore Trevor Whitley stepped to the plate with one out and the game-winning runner on second. He hit a ground ball and safely reached first while Devotie moved to third. This was then followed by strikeouts by Jonathan Royster and Morgan.

The teams headed to extra innings, and the leadoff batter for the Trojans capitalized on an error by second baseman Logan Hayes. A base hit then left the Patriots in a jam with one out and runners at first and third. The Trojans’ Jacob Jennings stepped to the plate and laced a line drive in the gap, scoring one run and propelled the Trojans to a 1-0 victory over Jefferson County.

Jefferson County baseball coach Gaines Cox went on to say, “We had tons of chances, and we just did not execute today.”

Leading the Patriots at the plate were Hayes, Devotie, and Kyle Briggs with one hit each. These were the only hits for the Patriots against standout Morristown West pitcher, Will Heflin. Bingle took the loss, while Heflin picked up the victory tossing all eight innings.

Jefferson County drops to 0-1 on the season, while the Trojans are 1-0. The two teams will meet again Tuesday at Morristown West High School, with first pitch scheduled for 5 pm.

Source: Andrew Briggs, Contributing Sport Writer