Diamond Canes Clinch Postseason Berth

The Jasper County-Monticello High School varsity baseball team punched its ticket to the postseason with two additional region wins in the past week.

The Canes earned a huge 10-6 home win in Region 3-AA action against Bleckley County on Wednesday, April 14. Jasper County-Monticello scored the final four runs in the contest to earn the victory.

Baylor Edge drove in four runs and Justyn Fields added two hits. Graeme Williams also drove in two runs.

Edge and Cole Hays combined to handle the pitching duties. Edge had two strikeouts in four innings of work.

Overall, the Canes had 10 hits in the contest. Bleckley County came into the matchup ranked second in the Class AA rankings.

“We played our best game of the year,” coach Brady McMichael said. “We excelled pitching, defensively and at the plate. We were doing the little things right and put it all together, just like we have been talking about all season.”

McMichael’s team then cruised to an 18-3 win against region foe Northeast-Macon on Friday. Cole Hays, Williams and Austin Cumbess each had multiple hits as Jasper County-Monticello needed just four innings to earn the win.

Trent Maddox drove in five runs while Williams had four. Edge also had a two-RBI performance.

Williams and Mac Barton both drew two walks.

On the hill, Maddox worked three innings and recorded three strikeouts.

Northeast managed just three hits in the contest.

The Canes continued its winning ways on Tuesday with an 11-10 comeback win against Washington County. The Canes scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the victory.

Tristan Humphries had three hits and Barton delivered with two. Overall, McMichael’s team had 15 hits in the contest to only six for the visiting Hawks. Both teams made several errors, however, to help keep the game close until the end.

Fields capped the win with a walk-off.

Cole Hays worked 4.2 innings and recorded two strikeouts. Edge has recorded a strikeout.

“We didn’t play our best game but it was good to see the team battle,” McMichael said.

The Canes will travel to Washington County Friday in a rematch beginning at 5:30 p.m. A win in that contest would push the Canes to third in the region standings.

The state playoffs begin next Thursday with a doubleheader and a third game, if necessary, on Friday. McMichael said it appears the opponent for his team will be either Jeff Davis or Bacon County. The first-round series will be on the road for the Canes.

“Once you get in the playoffs you never know what will happen,” the coach said. “The way we are playing now I feel confident in how we will approach the playoffs and how we will perform.”

Following Tuesday’s win, Jasper County-Monticello now has 20 wins. The Canes were set to play Mount de Sales on Wednesday of this week and then the rematch on Friday with Washington County. Wins in those games would top the 21-win season from 1999.