Tanner Johnson may have spoiled a one-hit complete game performance by South Jones starting pitcher Tyler Ducksworth with a two-out single in the top of the seventh Tuesday night in Ellisville, but that was all. Ducksworth’s solid night on the mound and shutout performance helped South Jones pick up its second win over Wayne County in Region 5-5A baseball this season. The Braves won 2-0 on Tuesday night and improved to 15-5 overall, 4-2 in region play.
“All we asked [Ducksworth] to do was to give us a chance on the mound,” said South Jones head coach Jordan Rogers. “And he did that.”
For video highlights and the full postgame interview with South Jones head coach Jordan Rogers, click the following link: https://youtu.be/AdL4wJR33oU
Ducksworth’s complete game shutout featured two Wayne County hits and 10 strikeouts. The senior Jones College signee improves to 3-1 on the year.
Wayne County starting pitcher Brenon Sehon lasted five innings and gave up one run on three hits.
“Hats off to Sehon,” Rogers said. “He did the same for his team. It was a good baseball game. These are the type of games you see in Region 5-5A baseball. I think we have three of the better teams in the 5A across the state [in our region].
The Braves managed only four hits against Sehon and War Eagle reliever Conner Pittman but were enough to score the runs needed to win. A well-executed two-out RBI bunt single by Cody Walters in the second inning, and a two-out RBI double by Mark Diers in the fifth gave South Jones its two runs.
“We didn’t swing it well,” admitted Rogers. “But we did things we needed to do to get in position to get the W.
“Cody Walters did a great job of doing what he does. His batting average doesn’t look great but he puts pressure on the opposing defenses, and that’s all we ask him to do. And a nice job by Mark Diers of letting the ball get deep and putting the ball through the four-hole and bring Chad [Moses] in to seal the deal with that second run.”
Ducksworth had the other two hits for South Jones. His base knock in the second inning represented the run that allowed Walters to get an RBI on his two-out bunt single.
South Jones travels to Wayne County Friday night to complete the regular season three-game Region 5-5A series. The Braves beat Wayne County 7-4 on March 8th in the two teams first meeting.
First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
