Tuscaloosa County Baseball Advances to State Championship

The Tuscaloosa County High School baseball team, led by head coach Nick Richardson, made history Monday night by earning its first-ever appearance in the 7A AHSAA State Championship game in Oxford, Alabama. The seventh-seeded Wildcats secured their spot after defeating the second-seeded Bob Jones 3-1 in the elimination game three days before the 7A AHSAA Baseball Final Four.

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This game was originally supposed to be played on Saturday, but due to a weekend filled with bad weather, it was rescheduled to Monday before being moved from County High’s Wildcat Stadium due to the conditions on the field being unplayable, which resulted in game three of this semi-final match-up to be played at Spain Park’s baseball field. 

In the second inning, the game was halted due to a lightning delay during the semifinals of the 7A AHSAA state playoffs. The game, originally scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m., did not resume until 7:05 p.m. on Monday.

The Wildcats jumped on the board following a resume of play. In the bottom of the second inning, Tuscaloosa County’s Joel Goss knocks a line drive to left field for a RBI double to drive home the first run of the elimination game to put the Wildcats up 1-0 to conclude the second inning.

Dillion Dubose started game three on the mound for County High, with the sophomore pitcher having a fantastic outing, allowing only one run while recording eight strikeouts throughout all seven innings of Monday’s game three victory. Dubose threw 104 pitches during the 3-1 win.

The game remained quiet until the Wildcats extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Once again, Gloss stepped up for Tuscaloosa County, earning his second RBI of the contest. This time, he delivered a sacrifice fly that brought Ford Traweek home, giving the Wildcats their second run of the game and making the score 2-0 as they headed into the fifth inning.

Bob Jones cut into Tuscaloosa County’s lead when Mick Tyrell came away with an RBI double to drive home the Patriots’ first run of the evening, making the score 2-1. Bob Jones failed to add any more runs due to the pitching of Dubose, who went on to strike out the last two batters to retire the inning, leaving the Patriots with two runners stranded on first and second base. 

The next score didn’t come until the bottom of the sixth inning when Tuscaloosa County’s Jashaun Moten drove home Will Hardy when he singled on a line drive to center field to add an insurance run to the Wildcats’ lead, which was now 3-1 going into the final inning of Monday’s game.

Dubose and the Wildcats' defense held Bob Jones to a three-up and three-down, allowing County High to keep its magical season alive and secure a spot in Oxford. The Wildcats will compete against Enterprise in the 7A AHSAA State Championship game, with game one being on Thursday, May 15, at 2:00 p.m.

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