Jacksonville, AL – Rapid-paced Harrison pitching a 92-minute gem and the top seed Oxford is back as Calhoun County baseball champion with 5-1 win over Alexandria
by Joe Medley
Make a mistake and you risk missing the pitching of Hayes Harrison in an inning. Two blinks and you might have missed his 92 minutes of pitching during the Wednesday’s Calhoun County Baseball final. Harrison pitched a double-hitter and Oxford won its second time as county champions, and also won its sixth county championship in the last eight years when it defeated Alexandria 5-1 at Rudy Abbott Field. The championship game on Wednesday was six days earlier than originally scheduled due to rain, however Harrison didn’t let anyone wait too long for the result. Harrison pitched 75 pitches over seven innings. He also recorded the strike count of 54 and 21 first-pitch strike strikes over 25 batters. What was more impressive than his efficiency was his speed. “There’s instances when we have two outs and I’ll simply say ‘tempo’ and he’s trained to be extremely fast,” Oxford coach Wes Brooks told reporters. “He already has a fast work rate. “Tempo is a time pitch that lasts for 12 seconds and he generally beats the clock every time. If we are going at a higher fast, we do not announce it. We know the pattern we use. We’ve got a term known as ‘Pattern 5 It’s based on of his variation.”
Harrison ended his game by pitching a 3 minute 31-second high of the seventh. It was his only walking of the contest. He hammered out the first pitch of the inning in a 12-pitch fashion. The reigning All-Calhoun Class 4A-6A All-Calhoun county player of the season as well as an Northwest Shoals Community College signee, Harrison said he patterns his game after a variety of Major League pitchers. He is most influenced by Jacob deGrom and Nestor Cortes. Harrison loves how Cortez plays with his tempo and timing. For Harrison it’s the fast and the faster. “I’ve always been trying to keep an edgy pace,” he said. “I do my best to work faster. It helps the hitters get off their rhythm, off their feet and off balance. The ball keeps me on my toes.”
Harrison was the winner of the match, which Alexandria coach Zac Welch described as Harrison won what Alexandria coach Zac Welch called a “chess game.” “The most difficult part is to ensure that the game play at a speed you’re comfortable with,” Welch said. “They’re trying to force us to move faster and we’re trying to slow them down. “It’s an excellent chess game. It’s an integral part in the sport.” While Harrison played well on at the mound, he discovered himself in a 1-0 deficit in the middle three innings. DeShaun’s Foster reached base via the catcher’s interference, but ended scoring on Seth Johnson’s RBI single. Johnson played in both Alexandria hits and an RBI double.
Oxford responded with Harrison’s game-tying single in the third inning. Oxford and loaded the bases thanks to two Alexandria mistakes during the 4th. This caused Welch to send Andrew Allen out of the pen to start Tripp Patterson. Allen fell one batter short of a no-hitter at the county final last year but he struck Nick Richardson to plate the winning run. Tourney the most valued players Peyton Watts did the rest by hitting a three-run homer making the score 5-1. “That’s an impressive team across the field, and you’re not going to offer them the same amount of respect as you did in our game,” Welch said. “For the six innings we’ve probably been well enough to prevail. The only inning we didn’t win, they profited from it. “You should be awestruck by them. They were knock when it really mattered and they deserved it today.” Harrison finished as the tournament’s top defensive player. Johnson was the best offensive player. Harrison along with Watts make up a senior class of nine who will be two-time county champions following two years without winning a county championship. “This is a huge deal for us,”” Harrison said. “This is the way we operate. It’s a lot of work.” The sport stories are a great source of information. Find more sports stories ….”
All-tournament team
MVPPeyton Watts Oxford.
Outstanding offensive player: Seth Johnson, Alexandria.
Outstanding defensive player: Hayes Harrison, Oxford.
Oxford: Drew McCormick, Carter Johnson, Nick Richardson, Trace Adams.
Alexandria: Aaron Johnson, Andrew Allen, Tripp Patterson.
Jacksonville:WIll Greenwood, Grant Patterson.
Donoho Lucas Elliott, Blake Sewell.
faith Christian:Alex Almanza.
Web Designer:Elijah Smith.
White Plains:Braxton Curles.
Ohatchee:Bryce Noah.
Pleasant Valley:Samuel Duncan.
2023 Calhoun County baseball tournament results
March 4
Choccolocco Park
Signature field
No. 11 Weaver 19 No. 14 Anniston 9
No. 6 Donoho 9, Weaver 2
No. 13. Faith Christian 14, No. 12 Wellborn 9
No. 5. Ohatchee 16 Faith Christian 5
No. 8. White Plains 13 No. 9 Jacksonville Christian 8
No. 7. Pleasant Valley 13, No. 10 Saks 3
6 March
Choccolocco Park
No. 4. Jacksonville 3. Ohatchee 2
No. 2. Alexandria 8 Pleasant Valley 5
Donoho 8, No. 3 Piedmont 4
No. 1. Oxford 13 White Plains 0
7 March
Choccolocco Park
Semi-Finals
Signature field
Alexandria 22, Donoho 3
Oxford 10, Jacksonville 0
15 March
Rudy Abbott Field
Oxford 5, Alexandria 1
