RECORDS
Varsity: 19-15 (1-3)
JV: 4-23
Freshman: 6-20
Varsity: 19-15 (1-3)
JV: 4-23
Freshman: 6-20
VARSITY GAME RECAPS
Rehobeth 11, Dothan 4: Andrew Wright belted a grand slam and Jordan Brown added a two-run homer as the Rebels closed the regular season with a win. Also performing well for the Rebels (21-9), who play host to Saraland in the first round of the playoffs Friday, was Trey Truitt, who tallied an RBI triple. Brandon Cobb added three singles and an RBI, while Brady Johnson had a run-scoring double. For Dothan (19-15), Matt Parker had a double and an RBI, while Nick Kellenberger recorded an RBI sacrifice fly and scored a run. Bubba McDaniel added a hit and scored a run.
Dothan 4, Enterprise 3: Dothan grabbed a 4-0 lead and held off the Wildcats to earn the second-game win. The Tigers scored once in the first on a Reid Agrella RBI single which brought home Jordan. They added three in the third. Bubba McDaniel, who doubled, scored on the back end of a double steal and Jordan had a two-run single to score Kennan Cason and Alex Arriaga, who both hit by pitches. Enterprise scored all three of its run in the fifth on a two-run single by Matthew Marler and a RBI single by Seay. Blake Jones was Dothan’s winning pitcher, allowing just four hits and three runs. He struck out nine and walked four. Offensively, Jordan was 3-for-4 with three stolen bases and two runs batted in to pace DHS. Four players – Joe Mimosa, Marler, Simon and Brody Wynne — had a single each to account for Enterprise’s hitting.
Enterprise 7, Dothan 1: The Enterprise Wildcats broke out of a hitting slump at the right time Friday night. Enterprise made the most of nine hits to score its most runs in two-and-half weeks and pitcher Ryan Allgood kept Dothan at bay as the Wildcats took a 7-1 win in the opening game of a doubleheader at Donaldson Park.
Dothan won the second game, 4-3, but that game didn’t count to the area standings.The opening-game win gave the Wildcats (18-18, 3-1) the Class 6A, Area 4 regular-season title as they swept both area counters over Dothan on consecutive nights. They will host a first-round state playoff series next weekend.
“It is great (to win the area),” Enterprise head coach Shawn Gilmer said. “Our (overall) record hasn’t been what I wanted it to be this year, but we played a very tough schedule and I think it helped us out in the end. “We were able to get the split at Northview to put us in the position to do it. I am proud of our guys for coming through in sweeping Dothan. They are a very much improved team from last year.”
Dothan (19-14, 1-3) was eliminated from postseason contention with the opening-game loss. Northview, which finished 2-2 in area play, will be the area runner-up. “It hurts we are not in the playoffs, but I think we have gotten better from when I get here in July and even from January and the first game in February against Charles Henderson,” Dothan first-year head coach Jared Smith said.
“We closed the gap with Enterprise and Northview, but we didn’t close it all the way, obviously.”
Dothan, which has clinched its first winning season since 2001, has two games next week for a chance to earn a 20th win, something the program hasn’t done since the 1990s.“We still have that to play for,” Smith said. “We only have one senior (Tyler Tretchell) and our goal is to get better every day whether we are in or out.”
Enterprise, which scored only 12 runs in its last five games, swung the bats effectively in the opener to score seven runs, the most for the Wildcats since March 25 when they scored 15 against Station Camp, Tenn., at the Hoover Buccaneer Invitational.The ‘Cats got contributions up-and-down the lineup as seven of the nine hitters had a hit, and one of the two players that didn’t, drove in two runs off a ground out and sacrifice fly.
“We did a lot better job of team baseball altogether,” Gilmer said. “We got folks on and we were able to move them around and in. That is something that has hampered us throughout the year. Thank goodness we were able to get it done.“It was the best (hitting) from top to bottom since Station Camp.”
Allgood, meanwhile, kept Dothan from generating much offense. The Wildcat hurler limited the Tigers to four hits and was threatened only once. He struck out only two, but walked just one. “He threw great,” Gilmer said. “There have been games where he has been up and down, but he came through big time for us tonight. He kept the pitches around the plate.”The Wildcat defense was solid for the most part, making only two errors, neither of which hurt as EHS got out of the inning after both.
“You are going to make mistakes in high school, but the biggest thing is how you correct that in the end,” Gilmer said. “Before we had games where we had errors and it snowballed on us, but now we have calmed that down and if we make one, we are able to come out and make the play behind it.”
One of those instances came in the top of the third. Enterprise led 1-0 when Dothan tied the game on back-to-back doubles by Nick Kellenberger and Jay Jordan and had a chance to go ahead. The Tigers had runners at first and third with nobody out after a throwing error following a sacrifice bunt attempt by Matt Parker. However, Enterprise’s Allgood got a force out at third on a bunt try, a strikeout and a ground out to escape further damage.
The Wildcats then broke the game open in their half of the third with four runs to go up 5-1. They added a run in both the fourth and sixth innings to finish up 7-1. “They get out of that with only one run (scoring),” Smith said, referring to his team’s third inning. “That was the opportunity for a big inning then they follow that up in the bottom of three with a four spot which pretty much knocked the wind out of our sails.”
Enterprise’s third started with a fly out then a walk to Ryan Brunson. After an errant pickoff attempt by Dothan’s catcher allowed Brunson to move to second, the Tigers’ Jordan got a strikeout for the second out. However, the Wildcats then put together three hits and a walk to score four times. Brendan Donovan singled home Brunson and after a walk to Jared Seay, Allgood singled home Donovan. Dustin Jordan then singled home Seay and when the ball bounced away from the right fielder, courtesy runner Matthew Marler scored as well.
In the Wildcat fourth, consecutive singles by Brent Vallor and Chris Simon opened the inning. Brunson sacrificed the two up. Following a strikeout, an intentional walk to Donovan loaded the bases. Seay then hit a grounder up the middle near the second base bag, but Dothan’s shortstop couldn’t field it as he tried to scoop it and touch the bag at the same time. Vallor scored on the error.
The Wildcats added their final run in the sixth. Consecutive singles by Brunson, Sam Stempinski and Donovan loaded the bases and Seay hit a sacrifice fly to score Brunson.Enterprise scored one in the first, taking advantage of a Tiger error. With one out, Stempinski ripped a single past the shortstop and Donovan followed with a fly ball to left that Dothan’s leftfielder dropped, putting runners at second and third. Seay then grounded out to the second baseman, but Stempinski scored.
Dothan, which played much better defense during the year than previous seasons, struggled in the game, committing four errors. “We just didn’t play our game,” Smith said. “We booted a few balls and they got a couple of extra bases on balls in the outfield that they shouldn’t have. We normally don’t do that and for whatever reason we did those today.”
Stempinski and Donovan had two hits each to lead Enterprise, whose nine hits were all singles. Seay drove in two runs to lead the RBI category, though he didn’t have a hit. Jordan had a pair of hits to account for half of Dothan’s four hits.
Enterprise 3, Dothan 0: While it is not near former Los Angeles Dodger great Orel Hershiser’s legendary run, Enterprise’s Seth McWaters is on a pitching roll that would make the former big league standout proud. McWaters recorded his second straight complete game shutout Thursday and extended his scoreless innings streak to 21 straight, helping Enterprise earn a 3-0 win over Dothan in a Class 6A, Area 4 game at the Tigers’ Pitman Field. Enterprise (17-17, 2-1) moved within a win today of clinching a state playoff berth. The Wildcats host the Tigers in a scheduled doubleheader. Dothan (18-13, 1-2) must win both to earn a playoff spot.
“This game was just one step,” Enterprise head coach Shawn Gilmer said. “It doesn’t complete it for either one of us. They could sweep us and get in. The first game will be big for us because if win that one, we will be area champions and that is what we have been working for all year. We win one out of two, we get in (the playoffs), but we definitely want to get that first one.” Dothan, which couldn’t parlay a rare triple play into a victory, saw its playoff chances take a hit with the outcome, but the Tigers still have hope for making their first postseason since 2009.
“We feel good,” Dothan head coach Jared Smith said. “I told the guys just to be in the talk of an area championship before today was special because Dothan hasn’t been there in so long. Now we can’t win the area, but our goal is to play in the playoffs. I told the guys, ‘We have to win one game two times. Don’t overthink it and think we have to win two at one time, that’s too hard to do.’ We have two of my best guys going (on the mound) and I know what they are going to give us. I feel good about it.”
The story on Thursday was McWaters. The 6-foot-2, 165-pound senior dazzled, allowing just three hits and not allowing a walk. He struck out nine. “I felt good,” McWaters said. “I felt like everything was going for me. It started off with my breaking ball wasn’t where I wanted it to be, but I found it. Everything felt good.”
McWaters’ 21 scoreless inning streak – still a long way from Hershiser’s major-league record of 59 straight in 1988 – started on March 26 when he pitched perfect ball for his last seven innings of a 10-inning game against Spain Park. Last Thursday, McWaters pitched a four-hit shutout with four strikeouts in a 1-0 area win over Northview.
“This one is just as big,” McWaters said. “We win one more and we are area champs.” Gilmer said it was a typical McWaters performance.
“He comes out and fills the strike zone and he doesn’t waste a lot of pitches,” Gilmer said of McWaters, who threw only 77 pitches. “I don’t think he walked a batter. He gets out there and does his job on the mound. He is a bulldog out there. He has great command of his pitches right now.” Dothan’s Smith, who saw McWaters’ performance last week against Northview, said he wasn’t surprised by the effort. “You have to tip your hat to McWaters,” Smith said. “We knew going in he was good. He actually pitched differently than I thought he would. I thought he would attack more with the fastball, but he was throwing the fastball, curve and change-up for strikes.”
Dothan had only one serious threat, that coming in the fourth. The Tigers, down 1-0 at the time, earned two of their three hits in the frame. Jay Jordan singled to open the inning but was forced out on a Matt Parker groundout. Blake Jones then doubled past third, putting runners at second and third with one out.
“My mindset was, ‘Don’t let that runner at second score. Don’t let him score,’” said McWaters, referring to the go-ahead run. “(Catcher) Dustin (Jordan) looked at me and said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s strike this kid out.’ I said, ‘All right.’ I was going for the strikeout.”
He got it on three straight pitches. He followed that by getting the next batter to ground out back to him to end the threat. “We just didn’t come through in that one inning and that could have been a difference maker,” Dothan’s Smith said. “It was 1-0 at the time. If we get a hit, we may go up 2-1 and we could do some things differently from there.”
Dothan put only one more runner on base – that on an infield hit on a high bouncer to second by Nick Kellenberger in the sixth – but he was left stranded at second. The Wildcat offense, which had only six hits, worked a run across in the fourth and two across in the sixth to back McWaters.
In the fourth, Sam Stempinski and Brendan Donovan walked to open the inning. After Parker, who pitched well for the Tigers, got a pair of strikeouts, Ryan Allgood blooped a single into short left to drive in Stempinksi. In the sixth, Stempinski walked to start the inning, then Donovan reached on a fielding error on a bunt. Jared Seay then hit a long fly ball to center field that just eluded the reach of Tiger center fielder Jones for a RBI single.
Following a wild pitch, a caught stealing and a soft lineout, Allgood delivered another bloop RBI single to left center that drove in Donovan for a 3-0 lead. Allgood and Chris Simon had two hits each to highlight the Enterprise offense.
Earlier in the game, Dothan had the defensive highlight of the night – a triple play. With runners at first and second base for Enterprise in the third inning with nobody out, Ryan Brunson hit a hard liner toward the middle that Tiger shortstop Jordan snared going to the second base bag. He stepped on the bag to double the runner at second then fired to first baseman Kellenberger to complete the triple play.
Parker shined on the mound for the Tigers. He gave up three runs, two earned, and five hits, while striking out six and walking four. “Parker did a great job against us,” Enterprise’s Gilmer said. “He kept us off balance. We couldn’t figure out that curve ball when he was getting it over for strikes. He was effective.”
Dothan 7, Bainbridge, GA 5: Down 5-0 in the fifth inning, Dothan rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fifth and won it in the seventh when Reid Agrella hit a three-run homer. In the seventh, Jay Jordan reached on an error to begin the inning and Matt Parker reached on a bunt. Blake Jones put down a bunt, but Jordan was thrown out at third. With runners at first and second, Agrella launched a homer over the left field fence for the walk off win. Agrella was 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a double and home run. Bubba McDaniel was 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Jordan had two hits, including a double and an RBI for the Tigers (18-12). McDaniel, the fifth pitcher used for Dothan, got the win. He pitched the final inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Dothan 11, Holtville 5: Against Holtville, Blake Jones (4-2) picked up the win, allowing just four hits and one earned run in five innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter. Jordan and McDaniel had back-to-back two-run doubles and Hughey had two RBI singles to spark an eighth-run fifth that pushed DHS from 3-2 to 11-2. Wade added a RBI single to the inning. For the game, Hughey, McDaniel, Jones and Agrella had two hits each. Jordan, McDaniel, Hughey and Wade drove in two runs each. Austin Deloney had a single and RBI.
Dothan 5, Prattville 1: Dothan defeated Prattville 5-1 and Holtville 11-4 in Prattville. The wins improved Dothan to 17-12, the most wins for the Tigers since the late 1990s. In the opening win, Jay Jordan (6-2) allowed only five hits, one walk and one earned run in six innings, while striking out four. Bubba McDaniel worked the last inning, striking out two. Offensively, Reid Agrella was 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI, Christian Hughey was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Hunter Wade 1-for-3 with a RBI. Dothan scored four in the sixth to stretch a 1-0 game to 5-0. Jordan scored on a passed ball, Agrella singled home a run and Hughey had a two-run single.
Dothan 11, Carroll 1: Blake Jones allowed three hits and just one run in six innings of work to help the Tigers down the Eagles. Jones also helped out at the plate with a double, run scored and an RBI. Matt Parker notched two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs. Jay Jordan had two runs scored, two stolen bases and an RBI, while Reid Agrella and Cooper Sellers added two hits and an RBI each.
Dothan 5, Providence Christian 0: In the second game, Parker pitched a complete game one-hitter with six strikeouts. Jordan had two hits, including an RBI double, and Austin Deloney had two hits and two RBIs.
Dothan 6, Providence Christian 0: In the opener, Jay Jordan pitched a three-hitter with five strikeouts and also drove in a run. Blake Jones drove in three with a double, Reid Agrella and Tyler Tretchell each had two hits and Matt Parker doubled.
Dothan 7, Lawrence County 6: The Tigers scored in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Dothan their 5th walk-off win of the year. Dothan took the lead 3-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning after a double by Christian Hughey scored Blake Jones and Reid Agrella. Lawrence County then took the lead, 4-3 after the Tigers made two throwing errors on a bunt which allowed all three runs to score. The Tigers battled back in the bottom of the fifth scoring three runs to go ahead 6-4. Lawrence County would not go away though as they tied the game in the top of the seventh inning. Agrella led off the 7th with an infield single. Keenan Cason pinch-ran and moved up to 2nd on a passesd ball. Lawrence County intentionally walked McDaniel. Hughey then bunted Cason and McDaniel to 2nd and 3rd base. After another intentional walk to load the bases, Nick Kellenberger drew a full count walk to score the winning run.
Winfield 9, Dothan 5: The Pirates scored six in the sixth inning to rally past Dothan. The Tigers were led by Hunter Wade, who had three singles. Bubba McDaniel had a RBI triple and Christian Hughey and Jay Jordan both had a single and RBI. Reid Agrella started for DHS and went five innings, giving up four runs (three earned) and six hits. He struck out four. Cooper Sellers took the loss in relief.
Northview 2, Dothan 0: The Cougars scored two in the first, and pitchers Tanner Ross and Sebastian Lunseth combined on a four-hit shutout to power Northview. In the first, Grier singled and Reynolds was hit by a pitch. Olive sacrificed the two up and a walk to Turner Vincent loaded the bases with one out. Summerford hit into a force play, and a throw to complete the double play was in the dirt. Grier and Reynolds scored on the play.
Ross, a freshman, and Lunseth were the rest of the story. Ross went 5 1-3, giving up four hits and four walks, while striking out six to pick up the win. Lunseth earned a save, not allowing a hit and walking just one over 1 2-3 and striking out one. Dothan loaded the bases in both the fifth and sixth innings with one out. Ross got a strikeout and flyout to end the fifth, and Lunseth came in relief and got a line-drive double play to snuff out the sixth-inning threat.
Grier was 2-for-4 to lead Northview, which also had only four hits, all singles. Olive, Swicord and Reynolds had a hit each. Jordan, Parker, Agrella and Hughey had a single each for Dothan. Jones went the distance for Dothan, scattering four hits. He struck out four, walked three and hit one batter.
Dothan 5, Northview 4: Dothan’s Christian Hughey had only one approach in his mind when he came up to bat Friday with the game tied in the bottom of the seventh against city rival Northview.
“Just focus and do my job,” Hughey said. That is exactly what he did. The junior hit an opposite field, game-winning run-scoring single to give the Tigers a walkoff 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Cougars at Pitman Field.
The game was a Class 6A, Area 4 counter and evened both teams at 1-1 in area play with both having to still play Enterprise. Northview (19-4) bounced back to win a potential area tiebreaker 2-0 over Dothan (11-11) in a second game Friday night.
Dothan, which scored three runs in the seventh to overcome a 4-2 deficit to win the opener, snapped a 10-game losing streak to Northview, dating back to a March 26, 2010, tiebreaker area game. It was the first win for Dothan over the Cougars that counted for the area standings since 2009.
“The kids made their goals at the beginning of the season, and their No. 1 goal was to beat Northview,” Dothan first-year head coach Jared Smith said after the opener. “I thought we out-energized them in the game. Our guys believed, and I thought at points Northview felt they would beat us because they have always beaten us. I am hoping we are a different team now.”
Northview head coach Lee Hall, whose team took a 6-5 win in the series opener Thursday, said the Tigers finished the game, unlike his team.
“I thought their guys battled hard like they did last night (Thursday),” Hall said. “There is no give up in Dothan High baseball. We have to get our guys to not be complacent and settle in when they think they have got things in hand. That is where we are at. We have to finish games and we are not finishing right now.”
Dothan’s Smith added, “Our guys believe. This is our fourth walkoff win. We have won two in the seventh, one in the ninth and one in the 13th. They believe. Ever since the first once in 13 at Bainbridge, Ga., they have bought in and they don’t quit.”
Hughey, who was part of most of the recent losses to Northview, was elated at finally winning against the crosstown rival.
“It feels amazing,” Hughey said of beating Northview. “It feels amazing.”
Dothan also had two other clutch hits in the game-winning rally. Pinch-hitter Hunter Wade hit the inning’s first pitch to right field for a single. After a walk on a 3-2 pitch to Jay Jordan, Matt Parker ripped a RBI double past the third base bag and down the line to bring the Tigers to within a run.
Parker, with runners at first and second and nobody out, fell behind in the count 0-2, fouling off a sacrifice bunt attempt and taking a strike.
After taking a ball, he earned his run-scoring extra-base hit to score Tyler Tretchell, who came back in to run for Wade.
After Northview inserted side-arm reliever Carson Hall to pitch, Blake Jones flew out, but it was deep enough to bring home Jordan and tie the contest at 4-4.
The Cougars intentionally put Reid Agrella on base before getting Bubba McDaniel on an infield flyout.
That brought up Hughey, who hit the first pitch – a fastball -- past the second baseman into right field. The throw to the plate was too high, allowing Parker to score easily and set off a Dothan celebration on the field.
“Christian has struggled all year by his standards and by ours,” Smith said. “He is in a slump. I told him before he got up there, ‘To just relax, forget the whole year, and if you get this hit, that’s the only one that matters,’ and he came through.”
Lee Hall said Northview liked the situation after retiring McDaniel on the popup.
“I thought Carson did a great job getting the two outs and we felt really good about where we were, but Hughey did a great job of staying on that sidearm pitch and going away with it,” Hall said.
The Cougars, behind three sacrifice bunts, scored a run in both the first and second and added two in the third to build a 4-0 lead. Braden Olive singled home Geoffrey Grier in the first after Grier walked to open the first.
In the second, Hunter Leger singled, was sacrificed to second by Blake Peters and scored on Cody Cox’s RBI single.
An inning later, Jeremiah Summerford doubled home Reynolds, who singled and was sacrificed to second by Olive. After Summerford’s double, Leger walked on a fourth-ball wild pitch.
He rounded first and got in a rundown. As he did, Summerford came in to score to make it 4-0. Northview pitcher Ben Swicord breezed through the first three innings, allowing just a walk, while striking out three. Dothan, however, pushed two runs across in the fourth to close the gap to 4-2.
Parker walked and Jones singled past second – the first Tiger hit of the game – to put two on with nobody out. After a force out on an Agrella ground ball, McDaniel had a long RBI fly ball single to left-center just out of the reach of the left fielder to score Parker. Two batters later, Cooper Sellers singled home Keenan Cason, a courtesy runner for Agrella.
Dothan had nine hits – all in its last four turns at bat – with McDaniel and Sellers earning two each. Sellers, who came in relief in the sixth and pitched 1 2-3 innings of scoreless and hitless ball with just one walk, picked up the pitching win. Northview finished with six hits in the game, but had only one in the last four turns at the plate. Olive led the way with two hits.
Northview 6, Dothan 5: Northview cashed in on opportunities, including two Dothan errors, in the final two innings to rally past the Tigers 6-5 Thursday at the Northview campus. The Cougars trailed 5-3 going to the bottom of the sixth, but capitalized on two hit batters, a hit, an error and a walk to tie it with two runs. An inning later, a hit batter, a stolen base, an error and a wild pitch helped the Cougars walk off with the win.
“ I thought our guys did what it took at the end of the ball game to win the game,” Northview head coach Lee Hall said. “I am just real proud of them for not giving up, working through adversity and fighting hard against a team that was well prepared to play us.”
Northview improved to 18-3 overall and to 1-0 in Class 6A, Area 4 play. Dothan fell to 10-10 and 0-1. The teams play a doubleheader today at Dothan’s Pitman Field, starting at 4 p.m.
“Our guys competed hard,” Dothan head coach Jared Smith said. “We had an error at the plate on a comebacker to the pitcher (in the sixth inning) that could have been the difference in the game. We just dropped it. We didn’t walk many, but we hit a couple of batters (five) and that killed us.
“ We knew they were a quality team and we wanted to be there at the end and we were there. We had them beat, but they made one more play than we did. But I am proud as heck of the way our guys competed. They competed hard, but we just came up short.”
Dothan outhit Northview 9-7, including a solo homer by Jay Jordan and a three-run homer by Reid Agrella that sparked the Tigers to a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning. However, Northview overcame the deficit in the sixth to tie it then won it in the seventh. Turner Vincent opened the Cougar seventh being hit by a pitch – the second time he had been hit by a pitch and the fifth time a Cougar player was hit with one in the game. After a strikeout, Vincent stole second during a second strikeout and the throw on the steal attempt ended up in centerfield, allowing him to move to third. With a 1-2 count on Ben Swicord, Dothan reliever Bubba McDaniel uncorked a wild pitch and Vincent scored easily to win the game.
“ I told Turner to be ready because he had a really sharp breaking ball,” Hall said. “I felt like with a 1-2 count on Swicord, he might throw the breaking ball. We had him (Vincent) getting an extended secondary lead. I told him, ‘We are going to take chance. If it is in the dirt, you are gone. Period.”
An inning earlier, the Cougars tied it. With one out, Swicord was hit by a pitch, Cody Cox lined a single to left and Drew Roselius was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Michael Reynolds hit a comebacker back to Jordan, who had just entered in relief. Jordan, a right-handed pitcher, followed through to his left and had the ball hit to his right. He fielded it off balanced and rushed a throw to the plate. It was a low throw that Agrella, the catcher, couldn’t snare. Swicord scored to make it 5-4 and left the bases loaded.
“ We worked on that exact play all week long,” Dothan’s Smith said. “He (Jordan) will make that play nine times out of 10. He just threw it a little low and our catcher couldn’t catch it and it trickled off. That was a big play for them.”
The ensuing hitter, Braden Olive, worked the count to 3-2. After a fouling off one 3-2 pitch, Olive drew a walk to force in Cox and tie the game. Jordan atoned for his throwing error on the next batter, making a full-out diving catch of a popped squeeze bunt attempt by Hunter Leger. Jordan threw to third to double off Roselius for an inning-ending double play.
“ That was a Superman play,” Northview’s Hall said. “That was as good a high school play that I have seen in a long time.”
Dothan threatened in the top of the seventh. With one out, Blake Jones bounced an infield single over the pitcher and moved to third on two wild pitches. However, Cougar reliever Carson Hall got Agrella on a comebacker and earned a strikeout to end the threat. Carson Hall picked up the win, throwing two scoreless innings with one hit allowed. He struck out three. Jordan, Agrella and Jones led Dothan’s nine-hit attack with two hits each. Jordan also had an 11-pitch walk, fouling off five straight 3-2 pitches.
“ We are big on quality at-bats and one of those things is eight pitches or more and that (at-bat) was big in getting him (Olive) out of the game,” Smith said. “He (Olive) was getting tired and frustrated because he (Jordan) was battling and battling.”
Olive, Northview’s lefty ace, threw 94 pitches in five innings and finished with a no decision. He gave up eight hits and five runs.
“ We had been struggling offensively, but the guys brought in tonight with the approach of what we were trying to do at the plate,” Smith said. “We hit two home runs and we hadn’t a home run all year, but it was because the guys when they got in the box, they knew what they wanted to do. We knocked Olive out and Olive is a heck of a pitcher. We were probably better offensively than anybody has been on him all year.”
Northview finished with seven hits, led by two-hit efforts from Olive and Cox. Swicord was 1-for-1 with a double and scored three of the six Cougar runs. Dothan jumped in front on the game’s opening at-bat when Jordan belted a 1-1 offering from Olive over the right field fence for a solo homer. The Tigers padded the lead to 2-0 in the top of the second when Christian Hughey, who had singled, scored during a Cougar fielding error.
The Cougars closed the gap to 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Roselius that scored Swicord, who doubled to left to open the frame. Northview eased out in front with two in the fourth. Roselius hit a run-scoring single to bring in Swicord and Cox, who reached on an infield hit in the shortstop hole, scored when Dothan couldn’t complete a double play.
The Tigers, though, reclaimed the lead off Agrella’s three-run to left in the top of the fifth. The hit also scored Jordan and Jones, who both singled earlier in the inning. That lead lasted until the bottom of the sixth when Northview tied it. An inning later, the Cougars won when Vincent scored on the wild pitch.
Houston Academy 6, Dothan 1: Kirk Maddox threw a three-hitter for the Raiders with 11 strikeouts and one walk. Jeffrey Omohundro had three singles, Taylor Lewis had a triple, single and three RBIs, Hayes Battles drove in a run and Brady Johnson and Maddox each singled. For Dothan, Blake Jones had a single and double and Bubba McDaniel singled. HA scored five runs in the fourth inning. Jay Jordan took the loss. He struck out five in five innings.
Dothan 6, Handley 1: Blake Jones got the win, scattering four singles over 5 2/3 innings of work with four strikeouts. Bubba McDaniel finished in relief, allowing no hits and striking out two. Matt Parker had two RBIs and a stolen base, Reid Agrella drove in a run and Jones had a hit.
Dothan 11, Providence Christian 4: Dothan forged a 7-0 lead through the top of the sixth then held off a Providence rally with four in the seventh after the Eagles scored four in the bottom of the sixth. Blake Jones had two doubles, going 2-for-3 in the game, and scored three runs for Dothan (9-8). Bubba McDaniel and Reid Agrella were both 2-for-4 with Agrella driving in a run. Hunter Wade and Cooper Sellers both had a double with Sellers driving in a run. Nick Kellenberger added a single and RBI. Matt Parker, who had a no-hitter for 4 1/3, was the winning pitcher, allowing three hits and two earned runs in 5 1/3. He struck out seven and walked three. Providence (5-8) was led by Micah Yance, who was 2-for-3. Matthew Williams, Chet Sowell and Jacob Cowie had a single each with Williams driving in a run.
Dothan 11, Russell County 1: In the win over Russell County, Dothan scored seven in the third inning to break away. Reid Agrella went 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs to lead the Tigers. Cooper Sellers doubled in two runs, Parker had an RBI, Blake Jones doubled in a run, Nick Kellenberger had two hits and an RBI, Jordan had two hits, and McDaniel and Tyler Tretchell each added a hit. McDaniel got the win, pitching four innings in the five-inning game. He gave up four hits, struck out four and walked two. Sellers pitched the final inning.
Dothan 2, Beauregard 0: In the win over Beauregard, Jay Jordan was the winning pitcher, going six innings. He allowed four hits, two walks and struck out three. Blake Jones pitched the final inning for the save.
The Tigers only had three hits, those coming off the bats of Matt Parker, Bubba McDaniel and Christian Hughey. Jordan scored the first run on a passed ball, and the Tigers added another on an RBI bunt by Alex Arriaga.
Central-Phenix City 4, Dothan 3: Dothan led highly-regarded Central of Phenix City to the sixth inning and were tied in the seventh before the Red Devils won it on a bases-loaded infield single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Dothan grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning when an error on a short fly ball in left-center off the bat of Cooper Sellers allowed two runs to score. Bubba McDaniel walked, Blake Jones singled and Hunter Wade walked to load the bases prior to Sellers’ at-bat. After Central (11-1) scored two in the bottom of the sixth to go up 3-2, Dothan tied it on Matt Parker’s RBI double that scored Jay Jordan (singled). Jordan led Dothan, going 2-for-3. Reid Agrella pitched six plus innings for Dothan and gave up just five hits. Sellers got two outs in relief in the seventh before Jordan came in and faced the final three batters.
Rehobeth 7, Dothan 4: In game two, Anthony Rogers picked up the win, throwing 5 1/3 innings of relief and striking out two. Cobb was 2-for-3, Arroyo 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Ben Holloway 2-for-4 with one RBI. For Dothan (6-7) in game two, Blake Jones and Jay Jordan both had a single. Cooper Sellers drove in one run.
Rehobeth 8, Dothan 1: Seth Arroyo pitched a complete game no-hitter in the opener with eight strikeouts, allowing an unearned run off an error, to spark Rehobeth’s 8-1, 7-4 sweep of Dothan. Offensively for Rehobeth in the opener, Brandon Cobb was 2-for-4 and Jordan Brown, Logan Palmer and Brady Johnson had a hit and RBI each with Johnson’s hit a double. Blake Jones was the losing pitcher for Dothan. Alex Arriga pitched five innings of relief, allowing no earned runs and two hits, while striking out two. Matt Parker drove in the run.
Dothan 3, Walker 0: In the Terry Sikes tournament, Jay Jordan threw a complete game one-hitter for the Tigers, with eight strikeouts and two walks. Jordan also had a sacrifice fly to drive in a run. Reid Agrella had an RBI and Cooper Sellers had a hit.
Spain Park 9, Dothan 2: Spain Park benefitted from 12 free passes via walks or hit batters to beat the Tigers. Dothan scored both of its runs in the first inning. Jay Jordan scored a run and Matt Parker, who had one of two Tiger hits, scored the other run. Reid Agrella hit a double for Dothan’s other hit. Bubba McDaniel (2-1) took the loss, giving up three earned runs in four innings. Alex Arriaga pitched the final three innings and gave up just one earned run.
Dothan 4, Northridge 3: Bubba McDaniel singled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh to help Dothan defeat Northridge 4-3 in the Terry Sikes Memorial Tournament in Troy. It was the Tigers’ third walk-off victory of the season and improved their record to 5-4. Reid Agrella pitched six innings and got a no decision. He gave up four hits, walked four and struck out three. Jay Jordan (2-1) came in with runners on first and second in the top of the seventh and got the win. In the seventh, Dothan’s Tyler Tretchell and Jordan drew leadoff walks. Matt Parker advanced them into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Agrella was intentionally walked to load the bases. McDaniel then singled to right-center. Jordan was 1-for-3 and scored a run. Agrella hit a double and drove in two runs. Blake Jones also doubled.
Southside 4, Dothan 3: In the first game, Dothan lost late, 4-3, to Southside Gadsden, which broke a 3-all tie in the bottom of the sixth to edge the Tigers. Parker pitched all seven innings for Dothan and didn’t give up an earned run. He gave up eight hits, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter. Agrella was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Trent Adams was 1-for-3 and scored a run. Jordan scored a run and drove one in with a sacrifice fly. Blake Jones also scored a run.
Dothan 3, Ariton 2: In the Ariton game, the Tigers tied the game in the sixth on a passed ball. In the bottom of the ninth, Jay Jordan walked, stole second and scored when Reid Agrella struck a single off the Purple Cat pitcher. Bubba McDaniel (2-0) picked up the win in relief, striking out two in two innings pitched. He relieved Blake Jones, who struck out seven in seven innings of work and allowed no earned runs.
Dothan 19, Pike County 3:
In the win over Pike County, Agrella had two hits, three RBIs and a run scored, while Matt Parker scored three runs and drove in another. Cooper Sellers had two runs scored and two RBIs. Jordan (1-1) picked up the win on the mound.
Dothan 5, Wakulla, FL 4: Dothan, the home team, scored a run in the bottom of the 13th inning for the win. Jay Jordan singled to left to jumpstart the 13th. Bubba McDaniel bunted, but the Wakulla pitcher mishandled it, putting two runners on. Matt Parker laid down another bunt and the throw by the third baseman short hopped the first baseman and Jordan came around to score the game winning run. Jordan and Reid Agrella both had two hits for Dothan with Agrella driving in a run. McDaniel picked up the win, working 2/3 of an inning in the top of the 13.
Leon, FL 6, Dothan 1: Matt Parker was 2-for-4 with a double and Christian Hughey was 2-for-3 with a run scored for Dothan in the loss. Parker took the loss, though he allowed only two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Bainbridge, GA 5, Dothan 1: The Tigers scored their run in the top of the first inning. Matt Parker walked and went to third on Reid Agrella’s double. Parker scored on Christian Hughey’s sacrifice fly. Bainbridge scored once in the third and four times in the fourth inning. Agrella took the loss for Dothan. He worked 3 2/3 innings, giving up five walks and five runs while striking out three.
Dothan 10, Elba 0: Blake Jones allowed one hit and struck out six in 4 1/3 innings to help the Tigers split a three-team round robin on opening day. Christian Hughey went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs for the Tigers. Bubba McDaniel was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Jay Jordan had two hits and scored two runs in the win. Dothan scored two runs in the first and eight runs in the second.
Charles Henderson 7, Dothan 0: Henderson’s John Michael Stephens pitched a three-hit shutout against Dothan. Stephens struck out six and walked one. Dothan’s Matthew Parker went 2-for-3 and Jay Jordan had the Tigers’ other hit. Smartt went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Nick Lewis had two hits and also scored two runs for the Trojans. John Johnson and Austin Ingram each had a hit, a run scored and two RBIs in the win.
Dothan 4, Enterprise 3: Dothan grabbed a 4-0 lead and held off the Wildcats to earn the second-game win. The Tigers scored once in the first on a Reid Agrella RBI single which brought home Jordan. They added three in the third. Bubba McDaniel, who doubled, scored on the back end of a double steal and Jordan had a two-run single to score Kennan Cason and Alex Arriaga, who both hit by pitches. Enterprise scored all three of its run in the fifth on a two-run single by Matthew Marler and a RBI single by Seay. Blake Jones was Dothan’s winning pitcher, allowing just four hits and three runs. He struck out nine and walked four. Offensively, Jordan was 3-for-4 with three stolen bases and two runs batted in to pace DHS. Four players – Joe Mimosa, Marler, Simon and Brody Wynne — had a single each to account for Enterprise’s hitting.
Enterprise 7, Dothan 1: The Enterprise Wildcats broke out of a hitting slump at the right time Friday night. Enterprise made the most of nine hits to score its most runs in two-and-half weeks and pitcher Ryan Allgood kept Dothan at bay as the Wildcats took a 7-1 win in the opening game of a doubleheader at Donaldson Park.
Dothan won the second game, 4-3, but that game didn’t count to the area standings.The opening-game win gave the Wildcats (18-18, 3-1) the Class 6A, Area 4 regular-season title as they swept both area counters over Dothan on consecutive nights. They will host a first-round state playoff series next weekend.
“It is great (to win the area),” Enterprise head coach Shawn Gilmer said. “Our (overall) record hasn’t been what I wanted it to be this year, but we played a very tough schedule and I think it helped us out in the end. “We were able to get the split at Northview to put us in the position to do it. I am proud of our guys for coming through in sweeping Dothan. They are a very much improved team from last year.”
Dothan (19-14, 1-3) was eliminated from postseason contention with the opening-game loss. Northview, which finished 2-2 in area play, will be the area runner-up. “It hurts we are not in the playoffs, but I think we have gotten better from when I get here in July and even from January and the first game in February against Charles Henderson,” Dothan first-year head coach Jared Smith said.
“We closed the gap with Enterprise and Northview, but we didn’t close it all the way, obviously.”
Dothan, which has clinched its first winning season since 2001, has two games next week for a chance to earn a 20th win, something the program hasn’t done since the 1990s.“We still have that to play for,” Smith said. “We only have one senior (Tyler Tretchell) and our goal is to get better every day whether we are in or out.”
Enterprise, which scored only 12 runs in its last five games, swung the bats effectively in the opener to score seven runs, the most for the Wildcats since March 25 when they scored 15 against Station Camp, Tenn., at the Hoover Buccaneer Invitational.The ‘Cats got contributions up-and-down the lineup as seven of the nine hitters had a hit, and one of the two players that didn’t, drove in two runs off a ground out and sacrifice fly.
“We did a lot better job of team baseball altogether,” Gilmer said. “We got folks on and we were able to move them around and in. That is something that has hampered us throughout the year. Thank goodness we were able to get it done.“It was the best (hitting) from top to bottom since Station Camp.”
Allgood, meanwhile, kept Dothan from generating much offense. The Wildcat hurler limited the Tigers to four hits and was threatened only once. He struck out only two, but walked just one. “He threw great,” Gilmer said. “There have been games where he has been up and down, but he came through big time for us tonight. He kept the pitches around the plate.”The Wildcat defense was solid for the most part, making only two errors, neither of which hurt as EHS got out of the inning after both.
“You are going to make mistakes in high school, but the biggest thing is how you correct that in the end,” Gilmer said. “Before we had games where we had errors and it snowballed on us, but now we have calmed that down and if we make one, we are able to come out and make the play behind it.”
One of those instances came in the top of the third. Enterprise led 1-0 when Dothan tied the game on back-to-back doubles by Nick Kellenberger and Jay Jordan and had a chance to go ahead. The Tigers had runners at first and third with nobody out after a throwing error following a sacrifice bunt attempt by Matt Parker. However, Enterprise’s Allgood got a force out at third on a bunt try, a strikeout and a ground out to escape further damage.
The Wildcats then broke the game open in their half of the third with four runs to go up 5-1. They added a run in both the fourth and sixth innings to finish up 7-1. “They get out of that with only one run (scoring),” Smith said, referring to his team’s third inning. “That was the opportunity for a big inning then they follow that up in the bottom of three with a four spot which pretty much knocked the wind out of our sails.”
Enterprise’s third started with a fly out then a walk to Ryan Brunson. After an errant pickoff attempt by Dothan’s catcher allowed Brunson to move to second, the Tigers’ Jordan got a strikeout for the second out. However, the Wildcats then put together three hits and a walk to score four times. Brendan Donovan singled home Brunson and after a walk to Jared Seay, Allgood singled home Donovan. Dustin Jordan then singled home Seay and when the ball bounced away from the right fielder, courtesy runner Matthew Marler scored as well.
In the Wildcat fourth, consecutive singles by Brent Vallor and Chris Simon opened the inning. Brunson sacrificed the two up. Following a strikeout, an intentional walk to Donovan loaded the bases. Seay then hit a grounder up the middle near the second base bag, but Dothan’s shortstop couldn’t field it as he tried to scoop it and touch the bag at the same time. Vallor scored on the error.
The Wildcats added their final run in the sixth. Consecutive singles by Brunson, Sam Stempinski and Donovan loaded the bases and Seay hit a sacrifice fly to score Brunson.Enterprise scored one in the first, taking advantage of a Tiger error. With one out, Stempinski ripped a single past the shortstop and Donovan followed with a fly ball to left that Dothan’s leftfielder dropped, putting runners at second and third. Seay then grounded out to the second baseman, but Stempinski scored.
Dothan, which played much better defense during the year than previous seasons, struggled in the game, committing four errors. “We just didn’t play our game,” Smith said. “We booted a few balls and they got a couple of extra bases on balls in the outfield that they shouldn’t have. We normally don’t do that and for whatever reason we did those today.”
Stempinski and Donovan had two hits each to lead Enterprise, whose nine hits were all singles. Seay drove in two runs to lead the RBI category, though he didn’t have a hit. Jordan had a pair of hits to account for half of Dothan’s four hits.
Enterprise 3, Dothan 0: While it is not near former Los Angeles Dodger great Orel Hershiser’s legendary run, Enterprise’s Seth McWaters is on a pitching roll that would make the former big league standout proud. McWaters recorded his second straight complete game shutout Thursday and extended his scoreless innings streak to 21 straight, helping Enterprise earn a 3-0 win over Dothan in a Class 6A, Area 4 game at the Tigers’ Pitman Field. Enterprise (17-17, 2-1) moved within a win today of clinching a state playoff berth. The Wildcats host the Tigers in a scheduled doubleheader. Dothan (18-13, 1-2) must win both to earn a playoff spot.
“This game was just one step,” Enterprise head coach Shawn Gilmer said. “It doesn’t complete it for either one of us. They could sweep us and get in. The first game will be big for us because if win that one, we will be area champions and that is what we have been working for all year. We win one out of two, we get in (the playoffs), but we definitely want to get that first one.” Dothan, which couldn’t parlay a rare triple play into a victory, saw its playoff chances take a hit with the outcome, but the Tigers still have hope for making their first postseason since 2009.
“We feel good,” Dothan head coach Jared Smith said. “I told the guys just to be in the talk of an area championship before today was special because Dothan hasn’t been there in so long. Now we can’t win the area, but our goal is to play in the playoffs. I told the guys, ‘We have to win one game two times. Don’t overthink it and think we have to win two at one time, that’s too hard to do.’ We have two of my best guys going (on the mound) and I know what they are going to give us. I feel good about it.”
The story on Thursday was McWaters. The 6-foot-2, 165-pound senior dazzled, allowing just three hits and not allowing a walk. He struck out nine. “I felt good,” McWaters said. “I felt like everything was going for me. It started off with my breaking ball wasn’t where I wanted it to be, but I found it. Everything felt good.”
McWaters’ 21 scoreless inning streak – still a long way from Hershiser’s major-league record of 59 straight in 1988 – started on March 26 when he pitched perfect ball for his last seven innings of a 10-inning game against Spain Park. Last Thursday, McWaters pitched a four-hit shutout with four strikeouts in a 1-0 area win over Northview.
“This one is just as big,” McWaters said. “We win one more and we are area champs.” Gilmer said it was a typical McWaters performance.
“He comes out and fills the strike zone and he doesn’t waste a lot of pitches,” Gilmer said of McWaters, who threw only 77 pitches. “I don’t think he walked a batter. He gets out there and does his job on the mound. He is a bulldog out there. He has great command of his pitches right now.” Dothan’s Smith, who saw McWaters’ performance last week against Northview, said he wasn’t surprised by the effort. “You have to tip your hat to McWaters,” Smith said. “We knew going in he was good. He actually pitched differently than I thought he would. I thought he would attack more with the fastball, but he was throwing the fastball, curve and change-up for strikes.”
Dothan had only one serious threat, that coming in the fourth. The Tigers, down 1-0 at the time, earned two of their three hits in the frame. Jay Jordan singled to open the inning but was forced out on a Matt Parker groundout. Blake Jones then doubled past third, putting runners at second and third with one out.
“My mindset was, ‘Don’t let that runner at second score. Don’t let him score,’” said McWaters, referring to the go-ahead run. “(Catcher) Dustin (Jordan) looked at me and said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s strike this kid out.’ I said, ‘All right.’ I was going for the strikeout.”
He got it on three straight pitches. He followed that by getting the next batter to ground out back to him to end the threat. “We just didn’t come through in that one inning and that could have been a difference maker,” Dothan’s Smith said. “It was 1-0 at the time. If we get a hit, we may go up 2-1 and we could do some things differently from there.”
Dothan put only one more runner on base – that on an infield hit on a high bouncer to second by Nick Kellenberger in the sixth – but he was left stranded at second. The Wildcat offense, which had only six hits, worked a run across in the fourth and two across in the sixth to back McWaters.
In the fourth, Sam Stempinski and Brendan Donovan walked to open the inning. After Parker, who pitched well for the Tigers, got a pair of strikeouts, Ryan Allgood blooped a single into short left to drive in Stempinksi. In the sixth, Stempinski walked to start the inning, then Donovan reached on a fielding error on a bunt. Jared Seay then hit a long fly ball to center field that just eluded the reach of Tiger center fielder Jones for a RBI single.
Following a wild pitch, a caught stealing and a soft lineout, Allgood delivered another bloop RBI single to left center that drove in Donovan for a 3-0 lead. Allgood and Chris Simon had two hits each to highlight the Enterprise offense.
Earlier in the game, Dothan had the defensive highlight of the night – a triple play. With runners at first and second base for Enterprise in the third inning with nobody out, Ryan Brunson hit a hard liner toward the middle that Tiger shortstop Jordan snared going to the second base bag. He stepped on the bag to double the runner at second then fired to first baseman Kellenberger to complete the triple play.
Parker shined on the mound for the Tigers. He gave up three runs, two earned, and five hits, while striking out six and walking four. “Parker did a great job against us,” Enterprise’s Gilmer said. “He kept us off balance. We couldn’t figure out that curve ball when he was getting it over for strikes. He was effective.”
Dothan 7, Bainbridge, GA 5: Down 5-0 in the fifth inning, Dothan rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fifth and won it in the seventh when Reid Agrella hit a three-run homer. In the seventh, Jay Jordan reached on an error to begin the inning and Matt Parker reached on a bunt. Blake Jones put down a bunt, but Jordan was thrown out at third. With runners at first and second, Agrella launched a homer over the left field fence for the walk off win. Agrella was 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a double and home run. Bubba McDaniel was 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Jordan had two hits, including a double and an RBI for the Tigers (18-12). McDaniel, the fifth pitcher used for Dothan, got the win. He pitched the final inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Dothan 11, Holtville 5: Against Holtville, Blake Jones (4-2) picked up the win, allowing just four hits and one earned run in five innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter. Jordan and McDaniel had back-to-back two-run doubles and Hughey had two RBI singles to spark an eighth-run fifth that pushed DHS from 3-2 to 11-2. Wade added a RBI single to the inning. For the game, Hughey, McDaniel, Jones and Agrella had two hits each. Jordan, McDaniel, Hughey and Wade drove in two runs each. Austin Deloney had a single and RBI.
Dothan 5, Prattville 1: Dothan defeated Prattville 5-1 and Holtville 11-4 in Prattville. The wins improved Dothan to 17-12, the most wins for the Tigers since the late 1990s. In the opening win, Jay Jordan (6-2) allowed only five hits, one walk and one earned run in six innings, while striking out four. Bubba McDaniel worked the last inning, striking out two. Offensively, Reid Agrella was 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI, Christian Hughey was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Hunter Wade 1-for-3 with a RBI. Dothan scored four in the sixth to stretch a 1-0 game to 5-0. Jordan scored on a passed ball, Agrella singled home a run and Hughey had a two-run single.
Dothan 11, Carroll 1: Blake Jones allowed three hits and just one run in six innings of work to help the Tigers down the Eagles. Jones also helped out at the plate with a double, run scored and an RBI. Matt Parker notched two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs. Jay Jordan had two runs scored, two stolen bases and an RBI, while Reid Agrella and Cooper Sellers added two hits and an RBI each.
Dothan 5, Providence Christian 0: In the second game, Parker pitched a complete game one-hitter with six strikeouts. Jordan had two hits, including an RBI double, and Austin Deloney had two hits and two RBIs.
Dothan 6, Providence Christian 0: In the opener, Jay Jordan pitched a three-hitter with five strikeouts and also drove in a run. Blake Jones drove in three with a double, Reid Agrella and Tyler Tretchell each had two hits and Matt Parker doubled.
Dothan 7, Lawrence County 6: The Tigers scored in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Dothan their 5th walk-off win of the year. Dothan took the lead 3-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning after a double by Christian Hughey scored Blake Jones and Reid Agrella. Lawrence County then took the lead, 4-3 after the Tigers made two throwing errors on a bunt which allowed all three runs to score. The Tigers battled back in the bottom of the fifth scoring three runs to go ahead 6-4. Lawrence County would not go away though as they tied the game in the top of the seventh inning. Agrella led off the 7th with an infield single. Keenan Cason pinch-ran and moved up to 2nd on a passesd ball. Lawrence County intentionally walked McDaniel. Hughey then bunted Cason and McDaniel to 2nd and 3rd base. After another intentional walk to load the bases, Nick Kellenberger drew a full count walk to score the winning run.
Winfield 9, Dothan 5: The Pirates scored six in the sixth inning to rally past Dothan. The Tigers were led by Hunter Wade, who had three singles. Bubba McDaniel had a RBI triple and Christian Hughey and Jay Jordan both had a single and RBI. Reid Agrella started for DHS and went five innings, giving up four runs (three earned) and six hits. He struck out four. Cooper Sellers took the loss in relief.
Northview 2, Dothan 0: The Cougars scored two in the first, and pitchers Tanner Ross and Sebastian Lunseth combined on a four-hit shutout to power Northview. In the first, Grier singled and Reynolds was hit by a pitch. Olive sacrificed the two up and a walk to Turner Vincent loaded the bases with one out. Summerford hit into a force play, and a throw to complete the double play was in the dirt. Grier and Reynolds scored on the play.
Ross, a freshman, and Lunseth were the rest of the story. Ross went 5 1-3, giving up four hits and four walks, while striking out six to pick up the win. Lunseth earned a save, not allowing a hit and walking just one over 1 2-3 and striking out one. Dothan loaded the bases in both the fifth and sixth innings with one out. Ross got a strikeout and flyout to end the fifth, and Lunseth came in relief and got a line-drive double play to snuff out the sixth-inning threat.
Grier was 2-for-4 to lead Northview, which also had only four hits, all singles. Olive, Swicord and Reynolds had a hit each. Jordan, Parker, Agrella and Hughey had a single each for Dothan. Jones went the distance for Dothan, scattering four hits. He struck out four, walked three and hit one batter.
Dothan 5, Northview 4: Dothan’s Christian Hughey had only one approach in his mind when he came up to bat Friday with the game tied in the bottom of the seventh against city rival Northview.
“Just focus and do my job,” Hughey said. That is exactly what he did. The junior hit an opposite field, game-winning run-scoring single to give the Tigers a walkoff 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Cougars at Pitman Field.
The game was a Class 6A, Area 4 counter and evened both teams at 1-1 in area play with both having to still play Enterprise. Northview (19-4) bounced back to win a potential area tiebreaker 2-0 over Dothan (11-11) in a second game Friday night.
Dothan, which scored three runs in the seventh to overcome a 4-2 deficit to win the opener, snapped a 10-game losing streak to Northview, dating back to a March 26, 2010, tiebreaker area game. It was the first win for Dothan over the Cougars that counted for the area standings since 2009.
“The kids made their goals at the beginning of the season, and their No. 1 goal was to beat Northview,” Dothan first-year head coach Jared Smith said after the opener. “I thought we out-energized them in the game. Our guys believed, and I thought at points Northview felt they would beat us because they have always beaten us. I am hoping we are a different team now.”
Northview head coach Lee Hall, whose team took a 6-5 win in the series opener Thursday, said the Tigers finished the game, unlike his team.
“I thought their guys battled hard like they did last night (Thursday),” Hall said. “There is no give up in Dothan High baseball. We have to get our guys to not be complacent and settle in when they think they have got things in hand. That is where we are at. We have to finish games and we are not finishing right now.”
Dothan’s Smith added, “Our guys believe. This is our fourth walkoff win. We have won two in the seventh, one in the ninth and one in the 13th. They believe. Ever since the first once in 13 at Bainbridge, Ga., they have bought in and they don’t quit.”
Hughey, who was part of most of the recent losses to Northview, was elated at finally winning against the crosstown rival.
“It feels amazing,” Hughey said of beating Northview. “It feels amazing.”
Dothan also had two other clutch hits in the game-winning rally. Pinch-hitter Hunter Wade hit the inning’s first pitch to right field for a single. After a walk on a 3-2 pitch to Jay Jordan, Matt Parker ripped a RBI double past the third base bag and down the line to bring the Tigers to within a run.
Parker, with runners at first and second and nobody out, fell behind in the count 0-2, fouling off a sacrifice bunt attempt and taking a strike.
After taking a ball, he earned his run-scoring extra-base hit to score Tyler Tretchell, who came back in to run for Wade.
After Northview inserted side-arm reliever Carson Hall to pitch, Blake Jones flew out, but it was deep enough to bring home Jordan and tie the contest at 4-4.
The Cougars intentionally put Reid Agrella on base before getting Bubba McDaniel on an infield flyout.
That brought up Hughey, who hit the first pitch – a fastball -- past the second baseman into right field. The throw to the plate was too high, allowing Parker to score easily and set off a Dothan celebration on the field.
“Christian has struggled all year by his standards and by ours,” Smith said. “He is in a slump. I told him before he got up there, ‘To just relax, forget the whole year, and if you get this hit, that’s the only one that matters,’ and he came through.”
Lee Hall said Northview liked the situation after retiring McDaniel on the popup.
“I thought Carson did a great job getting the two outs and we felt really good about where we were, but Hughey did a great job of staying on that sidearm pitch and going away with it,” Hall said.
The Cougars, behind three sacrifice bunts, scored a run in both the first and second and added two in the third to build a 4-0 lead. Braden Olive singled home Geoffrey Grier in the first after Grier walked to open the first.
In the second, Hunter Leger singled, was sacrificed to second by Blake Peters and scored on Cody Cox’s RBI single.
An inning later, Jeremiah Summerford doubled home Reynolds, who singled and was sacrificed to second by Olive. After Summerford’s double, Leger walked on a fourth-ball wild pitch.
He rounded first and got in a rundown. As he did, Summerford came in to score to make it 4-0. Northview pitcher Ben Swicord breezed through the first three innings, allowing just a walk, while striking out three. Dothan, however, pushed two runs across in the fourth to close the gap to 4-2.
Parker walked and Jones singled past second – the first Tiger hit of the game – to put two on with nobody out. After a force out on an Agrella ground ball, McDaniel had a long RBI fly ball single to left-center just out of the reach of the left fielder to score Parker. Two batters later, Cooper Sellers singled home Keenan Cason, a courtesy runner for Agrella.
Dothan had nine hits – all in its last four turns at bat – with McDaniel and Sellers earning two each. Sellers, who came in relief in the sixth and pitched 1 2-3 innings of scoreless and hitless ball with just one walk, picked up the pitching win. Northview finished with six hits in the game, but had only one in the last four turns at the plate. Olive led the way with two hits.
Northview 6, Dothan 5: Northview cashed in on opportunities, including two Dothan errors, in the final two innings to rally past the Tigers 6-5 Thursday at the Northview campus. The Cougars trailed 5-3 going to the bottom of the sixth, but capitalized on two hit batters, a hit, an error and a walk to tie it with two runs. An inning later, a hit batter, a stolen base, an error and a wild pitch helped the Cougars walk off with the win.
“ I thought our guys did what it took at the end of the ball game to win the game,” Northview head coach Lee Hall said. “I am just real proud of them for not giving up, working through adversity and fighting hard against a team that was well prepared to play us.”
Northview improved to 18-3 overall and to 1-0 in Class 6A, Area 4 play. Dothan fell to 10-10 and 0-1. The teams play a doubleheader today at Dothan’s Pitman Field, starting at 4 p.m.
“Our guys competed hard,” Dothan head coach Jared Smith said. “We had an error at the plate on a comebacker to the pitcher (in the sixth inning) that could have been the difference in the game. We just dropped it. We didn’t walk many, but we hit a couple of batters (five) and that killed us.
“ We knew they were a quality team and we wanted to be there at the end and we were there. We had them beat, but they made one more play than we did. But I am proud as heck of the way our guys competed. They competed hard, but we just came up short.”
Dothan outhit Northview 9-7, including a solo homer by Jay Jordan and a three-run homer by Reid Agrella that sparked the Tigers to a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning. However, Northview overcame the deficit in the sixth to tie it then won it in the seventh. Turner Vincent opened the Cougar seventh being hit by a pitch – the second time he had been hit by a pitch and the fifth time a Cougar player was hit with one in the game. After a strikeout, Vincent stole second during a second strikeout and the throw on the steal attempt ended up in centerfield, allowing him to move to third. With a 1-2 count on Ben Swicord, Dothan reliever Bubba McDaniel uncorked a wild pitch and Vincent scored easily to win the game.
“ I told Turner to be ready because he had a really sharp breaking ball,” Hall said. “I felt like with a 1-2 count on Swicord, he might throw the breaking ball. We had him (Vincent) getting an extended secondary lead. I told him, ‘We are going to take chance. If it is in the dirt, you are gone. Period.”
An inning earlier, the Cougars tied it. With one out, Swicord was hit by a pitch, Cody Cox lined a single to left and Drew Roselius was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Michael Reynolds hit a comebacker back to Jordan, who had just entered in relief. Jordan, a right-handed pitcher, followed through to his left and had the ball hit to his right. He fielded it off balanced and rushed a throw to the plate. It was a low throw that Agrella, the catcher, couldn’t snare. Swicord scored to make it 5-4 and left the bases loaded.
“ We worked on that exact play all week long,” Dothan’s Smith said. “He (Jordan) will make that play nine times out of 10. He just threw it a little low and our catcher couldn’t catch it and it trickled off. That was a big play for them.”
The ensuing hitter, Braden Olive, worked the count to 3-2. After a fouling off one 3-2 pitch, Olive drew a walk to force in Cox and tie the game. Jordan atoned for his throwing error on the next batter, making a full-out diving catch of a popped squeeze bunt attempt by Hunter Leger. Jordan threw to third to double off Roselius for an inning-ending double play.
“ That was a Superman play,” Northview’s Hall said. “That was as good a high school play that I have seen in a long time.”
Dothan threatened in the top of the seventh. With one out, Blake Jones bounced an infield single over the pitcher and moved to third on two wild pitches. However, Cougar reliever Carson Hall got Agrella on a comebacker and earned a strikeout to end the threat. Carson Hall picked up the win, throwing two scoreless innings with one hit allowed. He struck out three. Jordan, Agrella and Jones led Dothan’s nine-hit attack with two hits each. Jordan also had an 11-pitch walk, fouling off five straight 3-2 pitches.
“ We are big on quality at-bats and one of those things is eight pitches or more and that (at-bat) was big in getting him (Olive) out of the game,” Smith said. “He (Olive) was getting tired and frustrated because he (Jordan) was battling and battling.”
Olive, Northview’s lefty ace, threw 94 pitches in five innings and finished with a no decision. He gave up eight hits and five runs.
“ We had been struggling offensively, but the guys brought in tonight with the approach of what we were trying to do at the plate,” Smith said. “We hit two home runs and we hadn’t a home run all year, but it was because the guys when they got in the box, they knew what they wanted to do. We knocked Olive out and Olive is a heck of a pitcher. We were probably better offensively than anybody has been on him all year.”
Northview finished with seven hits, led by two-hit efforts from Olive and Cox. Swicord was 1-for-1 with a double and scored three of the six Cougar runs. Dothan jumped in front on the game’s opening at-bat when Jordan belted a 1-1 offering from Olive over the right field fence for a solo homer. The Tigers padded the lead to 2-0 in the top of the second when Christian Hughey, who had singled, scored during a Cougar fielding error.
The Cougars closed the gap to 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Roselius that scored Swicord, who doubled to left to open the frame. Northview eased out in front with two in the fourth. Roselius hit a run-scoring single to bring in Swicord and Cox, who reached on an infield hit in the shortstop hole, scored when Dothan couldn’t complete a double play.
The Tigers, though, reclaimed the lead off Agrella’s three-run to left in the top of the fifth. The hit also scored Jordan and Jones, who both singled earlier in the inning. That lead lasted until the bottom of the sixth when Northview tied it. An inning later, the Cougars won when Vincent scored on the wild pitch.
Houston Academy 6, Dothan 1: Kirk Maddox threw a three-hitter for the Raiders with 11 strikeouts and one walk. Jeffrey Omohundro had three singles, Taylor Lewis had a triple, single and three RBIs, Hayes Battles drove in a run and Brady Johnson and Maddox each singled. For Dothan, Blake Jones had a single and double and Bubba McDaniel singled. HA scored five runs in the fourth inning. Jay Jordan took the loss. He struck out five in five innings.
Dothan 6, Handley 1: Blake Jones got the win, scattering four singles over 5 2/3 innings of work with four strikeouts. Bubba McDaniel finished in relief, allowing no hits and striking out two. Matt Parker had two RBIs and a stolen base, Reid Agrella drove in a run and Jones had a hit.
Dothan 11, Providence Christian 4: Dothan forged a 7-0 lead through the top of the sixth then held off a Providence rally with four in the seventh after the Eagles scored four in the bottom of the sixth. Blake Jones had two doubles, going 2-for-3 in the game, and scored three runs for Dothan (9-8). Bubba McDaniel and Reid Agrella were both 2-for-4 with Agrella driving in a run. Hunter Wade and Cooper Sellers both had a double with Sellers driving in a run. Nick Kellenberger added a single and RBI. Matt Parker, who had a no-hitter for 4 1/3, was the winning pitcher, allowing three hits and two earned runs in 5 1/3. He struck out seven and walked three. Providence (5-8) was led by Micah Yance, who was 2-for-3. Matthew Williams, Chet Sowell and Jacob Cowie had a single each with Williams driving in a run.
Dothan 11, Russell County 1: In the win over Russell County, Dothan scored seven in the third inning to break away. Reid Agrella went 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs to lead the Tigers. Cooper Sellers doubled in two runs, Parker had an RBI, Blake Jones doubled in a run, Nick Kellenberger had two hits and an RBI, Jordan had two hits, and McDaniel and Tyler Tretchell each added a hit. McDaniel got the win, pitching four innings in the five-inning game. He gave up four hits, struck out four and walked two. Sellers pitched the final inning.
Dothan 2, Beauregard 0: In the win over Beauregard, Jay Jordan was the winning pitcher, going six innings. He allowed four hits, two walks and struck out three. Blake Jones pitched the final inning for the save.
The Tigers only had three hits, those coming off the bats of Matt Parker, Bubba McDaniel and Christian Hughey. Jordan scored the first run on a passed ball, and the Tigers added another on an RBI bunt by Alex Arriaga.
Central-Phenix City 4, Dothan 3: Dothan led highly-regarded Central of Phenix City to the sixth inning and were tied in the seventh before the Red Devils won it on a bases-loaded infield single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Dothan grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning when an error on a short fly ball in left-center off the bat of Cooper Sellers allowed two runs to score. Bubba McDaniel walked, Blake Jones singled and Hunter Wade walked to load the bases prior to Sellers’ at-bat. After Central (11-1) scored two in the bottom of the sixth to go up 3-2, Dothan tied it on Matt Parker’s RBI double that scored Jay Jordan (singled). Jordan led Dothan, going 2-for-3. Reid Agrella pitched six plus innings for Dothan and gave up just five hits. Sellers got two outs in relief in the seventh before Jordan came in and faced the final three batters.
Rehobeth 7, Dothan 4: In game two, Anthony Rogers picked up the win, throwing 5 1/3 innings of relief and striking out two. Cobb was 2-for-3, Arroyo 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Ben Holloway 2-for-4 with one RBI. For Dothan (6-7) in game two, Blake Jones and Jay Jordan both had a single. Cooper Sellers drove in one run.
Rehobeth 8, Dothan 1: Seth Arroyo pitched a complete game no-hitter in the opener with eight strikeouts, allowing an unearned run off an error, to spark Rehobeth’s 8-1, 7-4 sweep of Dothan. Offensively for Rehobeth in the opener, Brandon Cobb was 2-for-4 and Jordan Brown, Logan Palmer and Brady Johnson had a hit and RBI each with Johnson’s hit a double. Blake Jones was the losing pitcher for Dothan. Alex Arriga pitched five innings of relief, allowing no earned runs and two hits, while striking out two. Matt Parker drove in the run.
Dothan 3, Walker 0: In the Terry Sikes tournament, Jay Jordan threw a complete game one-hitter for the Tigers, with eight strikeouts and two walks. Jordan also had a sacrifice fly to drive in a run. Reid Agrella had an RBI and Cooper Sellers had a hit.
Spain Park 9, Dothan 2: Spain Park benefitted from 12 free passes via walks or hit batters to beat the Tigers. Dothan scored both of its runs in the first inning. Jay Jordan scored a run and Matt Parker, who had one of two Tiger hits, scored the other run. Reid Agrella hit a double for Dothan’s other hit. Bubba McDaniel (2-1) took the loss, giving up three earned runs in four innings. Alex Arriaga pitched the final three innings and gave up just one earned run.
Dothan 4, Northridge 3: Bubba McDaniel singled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh to help Dothan defeat Northridge 4-3 in the Terry Sikes Memorial Tournament in Troy. It was the Tigers’ third walk-off victory of the season and improved their record to 5-4. Reid Agrella pitched six innings and got a no decision. He gave up four hits, walked four and struck out three. Jay Jordan (2-1) came in with runners on first and second in the top of the seventh and got the win. In the seventh, Dothan’s Tyler Tretchell and Jordan drew leadoff walks. Matt Parker advanced them into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Agrella was intentionally walked to load the bases. McDaniel then singled to right-center. Jordan was 1-for-3 and scored a run. Agrella hit a double and drove in two runs. Blake Jones also doubled.
Southside 4, Dothan 3: In the first game, Dothan lost late, 4-3, to Southside Gadsden, which broke a 3-all tie in the bottom of the sixth to edge the Tigers. Parker pitched all seven innings for Dothan and didn’t give up an earned run. He gave up eight hits, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter. Agrella was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Trent Adams was 1-for-3 and scored a run. Jordan scored a run and drove one in with a sacrifice fly. Blake Jones also scored a run.
Dothan 3, Ariton 2: In the Ariton game, the Tigers tied the game in the sixth on a passed ball. In the bottom of the ninth, Jay Jordan walked, stole second and scored when Reid Agrella struck a single off the Purple Cat pitcher. Bubba McDaniel (2-0) picked up the win in relief, striking out two in two innings pitched. He relieved Blake Jones, who struck out seven in seven innings of work and allowed no earned runs.
Dothan 19, Pike County 3:
In the win over Pike County, Agrella had two hits, three RBIs and a run scored, while Matt Parker scored three runs and drove in another. Cooper Sellers had two runs scored and two RBIs. Jordan (1-1) picked up the win on the mound.
Dothan 5, Wakulla, FL 4: Dothan, the home team, scored a run in the bottom of the 13th inning for the win. Jay Jordan singled to left to jumpstart the 13th. Bubba McDaniel bunted, but the Wakulla pitcher mishandled it, putting two runners on. Matt Parker laid down another bunt and the throw by the third baseman short hopped the first baseman and Jordan came around to score the game winning run. Jordan and Reid Agrella both had two hits for Dothan with Agrella driving in a run. McDaniel picked up the win, working 2/3 of an inning in the top of the 13.
Leon, FL 6, Dothan 1: Matt Parker was 2-for-4 with a double and Christian Hughey was 2-for-3 with a run scored for Dothan in the loss. Parker took the loss, though he allowed only two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Bainbridge, GA 5, Dothan 1: The Tigers scored their run in the top of the first inning. Matt Parker walked and went to third on Reid Agrella’s double. Parker scored on Christian Hughey’s sacrifice fly. Bainbridge scored once in the third and four times in the fourth inning. Agrella took the loss for Dothan. He worked 3 2/3 innings, giving up five walks and five runs while striking out three.
Dothan 10, Elba 0: Blake Jones allowed one hit and struck out six in 4 1/3 innings to help the Tigers split a three-team round robin on opening day. Christian Hughey went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs for the Tigers. Bubba McDaniel was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Jay Jordan had two hits and scored two runs in the win. Dothan scored two runs in the first and eight runs in the second.
Charles Henderson 7, Dothan 0: Henderson’s John Michael Stephens pitched a three-hit shutout against Dothan. Stephens struck out six and walked one. Dothan’s Matthew Parker went 2-for-3 and Jay Jordan had the Tigers’ other hit. Smartt went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Nick Lewis had two hits and also scored two runs for the Trojans. John Johnson and Austin Ingram each had a hit, a run scored and two RBIs in the win.
JUDY COLLINS THROWS OUT THE FIRST PITCH
Champions of the Montgomery Challenge - Team Whiteness
Runner-up of the Montgomery Challenge - Team Trock-n-Friends
Varsity players with Christmas gifts that they bought for a child in need.
Varsity players with their gifts from Dirty Santa
Baseball Players Painted Up in Support of Senior Football Players
Baseball Team and Diamond Dolls at the "Light the Night" Cancer Walk
DOTHAN BASEBALL IN THE NEWS
Smith Ready to Turn Around Dothan High Baseball - Dothan Eagle
Dothan Hires Jared Smith as New Baseball Coach - WTVY.com
PC Alum Gets Dothan Baseball Job - Franklin Free Press
Jared Smith Named Dothan Baseball Coach - Dothan First.com
2015 P/C Reid Agrella Named to 2013 AlaBCA Team Alabama - AlaBCA.org
Dothan Hires Jared Smith as New Baseball Coach - WTVY.com
PC Alum Gets Dothan Baseball Job - Franklin Free Press
Jared Smith Named Dothan Baseball Coach - Dothan First.com
2015 P/C Reid Agrella Named to 2013 AlaBCA Team Alabama - AlaBCA.org
Smith Ready to Turn Around Dothan High Baseball - Dothan Eagle
Jared Smith has heard about the Dothan High baseball program’s storied history – and its recent past.
The new Tiger head baseball coach, officially hired Monday night by the Dothan City School Board as a math teacher and coach, wants to rekindle the program’s proud tradition.
“I know in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, they were a perennial program under coach (Terry) Collins,” Smith said. “I want to get Dothan back to those days.”
Smith, who comes to Dothan after five years as an assistant coach at Class 6A Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa, is also aware of the Tigers’ recent history, one that has featured no winning seasons since 2001.
However, based on what he has heard, he feels the potential is there to put the Tiger program back on the winning side of the ledger.
“I researched it, calling a lot of coaches and friends in that area and not one of them said, ‘Don’t take it. You can’t win there,’” Smith said. “Everybody said they had what you look for and that things are in place to be successful.”
Smith has several ideas of how to turn the program around – starting first and foremost with work ethic, an area that he got the impression lacked at Dothan in recent years.
“We have to change the culture,” Smith said. “We have to outwork everybody. I know coaches say that, but we have to. We have to work hard year round and not just during the season.
“I understand Dothan had only one kid playing summer ball. We have to change that. We have to get after it in all phases and we have to get after it in the weight room.”
Smith feels he has experience to fall back. While at Northridge with head coach Travis Garner, the program won more than 100 games over five years after the team struggled under previous coaches. Former University of Alabama head coach Jim Wells helped in recent seasons.
“When we arrived there five years ago it was a similar situation as it is at Dothan now,” Smith said. “They had only won seven games the year before, but every year, coach Garner and I won 20 games or more and we won the area championship in two years, so I have been a part of turning a program around.”
Another part of creating a winning environment, said Smith, is getting kids to be excited again about being part of Tiger baseball.
“I understand there is a ton of talent in Dothan, but that a lot of it has transferred out,” Smith said. “We have to get Dothan kids that want to be at Dothan.”
Smith is optimistic that if the culture of work ethic and excitement changes, so will the results.
“I would not say we are rebuilding,” Smith said. “We can come in and work hard and if we do, we will see results quickly.
“I don’t have a set number of wins, but if we work hard, I do expect we will see immediate results (improvement). Now, whether it leads to wins and championships, we will see.”
Dothan principal Stan Eldridge and athletic director Kelvis White were upbeat about the hire of Smith, who replaces Jarett Maddox. Maddox resigned last month.
“He is a young, energetic coach who is ready to go,” Eldridge said of Smith. “He is ready to meet the players and meet the parents. He said he cares about the players. He wants to take care of them and he said he wants to do what is best for them. That impressed me, as did his organizational skills. He has a good plan.
“Coach White called all the references and the head coach said, ‘Don’t hire him because I don’t want to lose him,’ and the principal said, ‘Don’t hire because I don’t want to lose him as a math teacher,’ so that says a lot.”
White described Smith as “extremely organized and very intelligent.”
In addition to his five years at Northridge, Smith was a volunteer assistant at Hillcrest of Tuscaloosa when the Patriots won the 6A state championship in 2007.
He is a 2003 graduate of Phil Campbell High School in north Alabama where he played mostly second base and outfield, though he also pitched some.
Smith earned his bachelor and masters’ degrees from the University of Alabama in math and will complete an education leadership degree from the University of West Alabama later this month.
“I am real excited about going to work at Dothan High School,” Smith said. “It is a school rich with tradition. It has tremendous support from parents and administration. I feel it is a great opportunity.”
He expects his team to display several traits.
“We will instill core values, we will be disciplined, we will give maximum effort and be committed to the program,” Smith said.
On the field, Smith said he will focus on hitting and defense. He hopes to hire a coach to handle the pitching staff.
“Hitting and defense are my strong point,” Smith said. “Offensively, we will be aggressive and we will know when we need to be aggressive. Defensively, we will be fundamentally sound.”
Smith will be at Dothan High in the media center today at 5 p.m. to meet Tiger players and parents.
The new Tiger head baseball coach, officially hired Monday night by the Dothan City School Board as a math teacher and coach, wants to rekindle the program’s proud tradition.
“I know in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, they were a perennial program under coach (Terry) Collins,” Smith said. “I want to get Dothan back to those days.”
Smith, who comes to Dothan after five years as an assistant coach at Class 6A Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa, is also aware of the Tigers’ recent history, one that has featured no winning seasons since 2001.
However, based on what he has heard, he feels the potential is there to put the Tiger program back on the winning side of the ledger.
“I researched it, calling a lot of coaches and friends in that area and not one of them said, ‘Don’t take it. You can’t win there,’” Smith said. “Everybody said they had what you look for and that things are in place to be successful.”
Smith has several ideas of how to turn the program around – starting first and foremost with work ethic, an area that he got the impression lacked at Dothan in recent years.
“We have to change the culture,” Smith said. “We have to outwork everybody. I know coaches say that, but we have to. We have to work hard year round and not just during the season.
“I understand Dothan had only one kid playing summer ball. We have to change that. We have to get after it in all phases and we have to get after it in the weight room.”
Smith feels he has experience to fall back. While at Northridge with head coach Travis Garner, the program won more than 100 games over five years after the team struggled under previous coaches. Former University of Alabama head coach Jim Wells helped in recent seasons.
“When we arrived there five years ago it was a similar situation as it is at Dothan now,” Smith said. “They had only won seven games the year before, but every year, coach Garner and I won 20 games or more and we won the area championship in two years, so I have been a part of turning a program around.”
Another part of creating a winning environment, said Smith, is getting kids to be excited again about being part of Tiger baseball.
“I understand there is a ton of talent in Dothan, but that a lot of it has transferred out,” Smith said. “We have to get Dothan kids that want to be at Dothan.”
Smith is optimistic that if the culture of work ethic and excitement changes, so will the results.
“I would not say we are rebuilding,” Smith said. “We can come in and work hard and if we do, we will see results quickly.
“I don’t have a set number of wins, but if we work hard, I do expect we will see immediate results (improvement). Now, whether it leads to wins and championships, we will see.”
Dothan principal Stan Eldridge and athletic director Kelvis White were upbeat about the hire of Smith, who replaces Jarett Maddox. Maddox resigned last month.
“He is a young, energetic coach who is ready to go,” Eldridge said of Smith. “He is ready to meet the players and meet the parents. He said he cares about the players. He wants to take care of them and he said he wants to do what is best for them. That impressed me, as did his organizational skills. He has a good plan.
“Coach White called all the references and the head coach said, ‘Don’t hire him because I don’t want to lose him,’ and the principal said, ‘Don’t hire because I don’t want to lose him as a math teacher,’ so that says a lot.”
White described Smith as “extremely organized and very intelligent.”
In addition to his five years at Northridge, Smith was a volunteer assistant at Hillcrest of Tuscaloosa when the Patriots won the 6A state championship in 2007.
He is a 2003 graduate of Phil Campbell High School in north Alabama where he played mostly second base and outfield, though he also pitched some.
Smith earned his bachelor and masters’ degrees from the University of Alabama in math and will complete an education leadership degree from the University of West Alabama later this month.
“I am real excited about going to work at Dothan High School,” Smith said. “It is a school rich with tradition. It has tremendous support from parents and administration. I feel it is a great opportunity.”
He expects his team to display several traits.
“We will instill core values, we will be disciplined, we will give maximum effort and be committed to the program,” Smith said.
On the field, Smith said he will focus on hitting and defense. He hopes to hire a coach to handle the pitching staff.
“Hitting and defense are my strong point,” Smith said. “Offensively, we will be aggressive and we will know when we need to be aggressive. Defensively, we will be fundamentally sound.”
Smith will be at Dothan High in the media center today at 5 p.m. to meet Tiger players and parents.
Dothan Hires Jared Smith as New Baseball Coach
(DOTHAN) - Dothan's new baseball Coach, Jared Smith, says he hopes to help mold the Tigers back into the dominant 6A program they were in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
"I made a lot of phone calls to friends before I took this job and not a single person said 'Don't take it,' said Smith.
"I did some research and know what Terry Collins did for this program back in the day and I feel like we have the potential here," he said.
For the past five seasons Smith worked as an assistant coach at Northridge high school under head coach Travis Garner.
Smith helped the team to more than 100 wins over those five seasons. He's excited and feels like he can bring that experience to Dothan.
"I'm ready to evaluate every aspect of the program, see what we want to change and what we want to keep the same to keep this a premier program," said Smith.
"We're just going to go after it. Every Coach says that they're going to outwork people but you know we are going to do what it takes year-round to be a successful 6A program," he said.
Smith hopes to hold the first full week of practice and scrimmages the week of July 22nd.
"I made a lot of phone calls to friends before I took this job and not a single person said 'Don't take it,' said Smith.
"I did some research and know what Terry Collins did for this program back in the day and I feel like we have the potential here," he said.
For the past five seasons Smith worked as an assistant coach at Northridge high school under head coach Travis Garner.
Smith helped the team to more than 100 wins over those five seasons. He's excited and feels like he can bring that experience to Dothan.
"I'm ready to evaluate every aspect of the program, see what we want to change and what we want to keep the same to keep this a premier program," said Smith.
"We're just going to go after it. Every Coach says that they're going to outwork people but you know we are going to do what it takes year-round to be a successful 6A program," he said.
Smith hopes to hold the first full week of practice and scrimmages the week of July 22nd.
PC Alum Gets Dothan Baseball Job
Even as a 14-year-old kid at East Franklin Junior High, Jared Smith knew exactly what he wanted to do for a living.
It was in his blood.
“Pretty much everybody in my family has been involved in teaching and coaching,” said Smith, who played baseball at Phil Campbell before graduating in 2003. “There was never any doubt that’s what I wanted to do. I’ve always been pretty good at math, and some people wanted me to be an engineer. But that never really interested me.
“I love being around the game and being around the kids. Ever since the ninth or tenth grade, I’ve known this is what I wanted to do.”
Smith’s mother, Vickie King, retired from education after teaching at East Franklin and Tharptown. His father, Alan Smith, is the head baseball coach at Winfield High School.
Smith’s grandmother taught at Phil Campbell, and he has aunts and uncles still working in the field of education. It was no surprise, then, when Smith chose to pursue a degree in math from the University of Alabama with the aim of becoming a teacher and a baseball coach.
After earning his bachelor’s, Smith broke into the coaching ranks in 2007 as an assistant at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, where he helped the Patriots win the Class 6A state title. He returned to the University to get his Master’s degree (also in math) and then spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach at Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa.
On July 8, Smith officially became a head coach for the first time when he was hired to take over the baseball program at Dothan High School.
“I’m really excited,” Smith said last week. “It’s been a whirlwind trying to get moved down there, get the schedule worked out and meet the kids. I haven’t had a chance to evaluate the players, but I’m ready to get going and hopefully evaluate the whole program really soon.”
Dothan, once a perennial baseball powerhouse, has struggled in recent years. The Tigers have just one winning season since 2001 and one playoff appearance since 2002.
“They were very good for a long time,” Smith said. “They won a state championship in 1978 and had some really good teams in the 80s and 90s, too. They made the playoffs a lot and made a deep run every once in a while. The last ten years or so, they’ve fallen off a little bit, for whatever reason. Our goal is to turn things around and help Dothan become a premier program again.”
Smith said there is plenty of baseball talent in Dothan; there are also plenty of options for where those student-athletes can attend school.
“There’s a ton of baseball talent in Dothan,” he said. “There are two schools in the city, Dothan High and Northview, which is pretty much the northern half of Dothan. There are a few private schools in town, and then there are some really good county programs, too, like G.W. Long, that have won a lot in the last few years.
“Dothan High has lost some talent to other schools. Our goal will be to keep the ones we’ve got there now and hopefully eventually get it to the point where nobody’s leaving. We want those kids to want to be at Dothan.”
Smith has some experience when it comes to building a program. At Northridge, he helped head coach Travis Garner transform the Jaguars from a seven-win team in 2008 to a team that has won 20 or more games in each of the past five seasons. Two years ago, Northridge won the first area championship in the school’s brief history.
Smith believes a similar turnaround is possible at Dothan, where the Tigers won just 12 games last year. And he has very specific ideas about how to get it done.
“Offensively, I believe in being aggressive,” Smith said. “The bats have changed, and the game has changed. We’ll bunt, we’ll hit-and-run, we’ll steal bases. We’ll do the small things right. The days of people hitting a bunch of home runs in high school baseball are pretty much over, unless they change something. Everybody likes to see a ball go over the fence, but doing the little things right and playing small ball will be the key.
“Defensively, we’ll be sound. You have to make the routine plays. There aren’t a lot of 12-10 games any more. If you can make all the routine plays, that can help you win a game 2-1 or 3-2.
“Our pitchers will throw strikes. I hate it when pitchers walk people. As a pitcher, you have to attack the strike zone and see if a high school hitter is good enough to beat you. I want our pitchers to be able to throw three pitches for strikes.”
Smith started at second base for Phil Campbell as a senior in 2003, helping head coach Michael Beck lay the foundation for teams that would make back-to-back trips to the state finals in 2005 and 2006.
“I graduated right before they made those two runs to the state finals,” Smith said. “We were 3A when I played, and then they dropped down to 2A, which helped out a ton. They did very well. I hate I missed out on that.
“I really enjoyed playing for Coach Beck. He was a big drill guy when it came to hitting. I’ve been around three or four coaches with different approaches, and I’ve tried to take something from each one. Coach Beck’s style was very aggressive. He knew how to get the most out of his kids—that’s why they had two state runner-up teams. I took a lot from the hitting aspect of the game, with all the drill work we did. He was really big on that.”
Smith spent his entire playing career at the small-school level, but all of his coaching jobs to date have been at 6A schools.
“I was fortunate to be at Hillcrest in 2007 when they won a state championship,” he said. “I took a year off to get my Master’s, and I’ve been in 6A ball ever since. I haven’t been in small-school ball since Phil Campbell. It’s different. There’s some good and some bad with both. At a small school, the community support is unbelievable. Everything just revolves around the school and athletics. It’s not quite like that at a larger school. They don’t shut down the whole town for a playoff game. There’s too much to do, I guess.
“Dothan kind of has that small-school atmosphere, though. They really want the program to be successful, and everybody wants to be a part of that success.”
The Tigers’ schedule for 2014 is pretty much set, but Smith already has an eye on a potential meeting some time down the road with Winfield, where his dad has led the Pirates to state quarterfinal appearances each of the past two seasons.
“Man, we were gonna try to make it work, but it was a little late in the game to make that happen,” Smith said. “Hopefully we can get that next year.
It was in his blood.
“Pretty much everybody in my family has been involved in teaching and coaching,” said Smith, who played baseball at Phil Campbell before graduating in 2003. “There was never any doubt that’s what I wanted to do. I’ve always been pretty good at math, and some people wanted me to be an engineer. But that never really interested me.
“I love being around the game and being around the kids. Ever since the ninth or tenth grade, I’ve known this is what I wanted to do.”
Smith’s mother, Vickie King, retired from education after teaching at East Franklin and Tharptown. His father, Alan Smith, is the head baseball coach at Winfield High School.
Smith’s grandmother taught at Phil Campbell, and he has aunts and uncles still working in the field of education. It was no surprise, then, when Smith chose to pursue a degree in math from the University of Alabama with the aim of becoming a teacher and a baseball coach.
After earning his bachelor’s, Smith broke into the coaching ranks in 2007 as an assistant at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, where he helped the Patriots win the Class 6A state title. He returned to the University to get his Master’s degree (also in math) and then spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach at Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa.
On July 8, Smith officially became a head coach for the first time when he was hired to take over the baseball program at Dothan High School.
“I’m really excited,” Smith said last week. “It’s been a whirlwind trying to get moved down there, get the schedule worked out and meet the kids. I haven’t had a chance to evaluate the players, but I’m ready to get going and hopefully evaluate the whole program really soon.”
Dothan, once a perennial baseball powerhouse, has struggled in recent years. The Tigers have just one winning season since 2001 and one playoff appearance since 2002.
“They were very good for a long time,” Smith said. “They won a state championship in 1978 and had some really good teams in the 80s and 90s, too. They made the playoffs a lot and made a deep run every once in a while. The last ten years or so, they’ve fallen off a little bit, for whatever reason. Our goal is to turn things around and help Dothan become a premier program again.”
Smith said there is plenty of baseball talent in Dothan; there are also plenty of options for where those student-athletes can attend school.
“There’s a ton of baseball talent in Dothan,” he said. “There are two schools in the city, Dothan High and Northview, which is pretty much the northern half of Dothan. There are a few private schools in town, and then there are some really good county programs, too, like G.W. Long, that have won a lot in the last few years.
“Dothan High has lost some talent to other schools. Our goal will be to keep the ones we’ve got there now and hopefully eventually get it to the point where nobody’s leaving. We want those kids to want to be at Dothan.”
Smith has some experience when it comes to building a program. At Northridge, he helped head coach Travis Garner transform the Jaguars from a seven-win team in 2008 to a team that has won 20 or more games in each of the past five seasons. Two years ago, Northridge won the first area championship in the school’s brief history.
Smith believes a similar turnaround is possible at Dothan, where the Tigers won just 12 games last year. And he has very specific ideas about how to get it done.
“Offensively, I believe in being aggressive,” Smith said. “The bats have changed, and the game has changed. We’ll bunt, we’ll hit-and-run, we’ll steal bases. We’ll do the small things right. The days of people hitting a bunch of home runs in high school baseball are pretty much over, unless they change something. Everybody likes to see a ball go over the fence, but doing the little things right and playing small ball will be the key.
“Defensively, we’ll be sound. You have to make the routine plays. There aren’t a lot of 12-10 games any more. If you can make all the routine plays, that can help you win a game 2-1 or 3-2.
“Our pitchers will throw strikes. I hate it when pitchers walk people. As a pitcher, you have to attack the strike zone and see if a high school hitter is good enough to beat you. I want our pitchers to be able to throw three pitches for strikes.”
Smith started at second base for Phil Campbell as a senior in 2003, helping head coach Michael Beck lay the foundation for teams that would make back-to-back trips to the state finals in 2005 and 2006.
“I graduated right before they made those two runs to the state finals,” Smith said. “We were 3A when I played, and then they dropped down to 2A, which helped out a ton. They did very well. I hate I missed out on that.
“I really enjoyed playing for Coach Beck. He was a big drill guy when it came to hitting. I’ve been around three or four coaches with different approaches, and I’ve tried to take something from each one. Coach Beck’s style was very aggressive. He knew how to get the most out of his kids—that’s why they had two state runner-up teams. I took a lot from the hitting aspect of the game, with all the drill work we did. He was really big on that.”
Smith spent his entire playing career at the small-school level, but all of his coaching jobs to date have been at 6A schools.
“I was fortunate to be at Hillcrest in 2007 when they won a state championship,” he said. “I took a year off to get my Master’s, and I’ve been in 6A ball ever since. I haven’t been in small-school ball since Phil Campbell. It’s different. There’s some good and some bad with both. At a small school, the community support is unbelievable. Everything just revolves around the school and athletics. It’s not quite like that at a larger school. They don’t shut down the whole town for a playoff game. There’s too much to do, I guess.
“Dothan kind of has that small-school atmosphere, though. They really want the program to be successful, and everybody wants to be a part of that success.”
The Tigers’ schedule for 2014 is pretty much set, but Smith already has an eye on a potential meeting some time down the road with Winfield, where his dad has led the Pirates to state quarterfinal appearances each of the past two seasons.
“Man, we were gonna try to make it work, but it was a little late in the game to make that happen,” Smith said. “Hopefully we can get that next year.
Jared Smith Named Dothan Baseball Coach
Jared Smith was officially hired as the next Dothan High baseball coach and as a math teacher on Monday night by the Dothan City School Board.
Smith comes to the Tigers after assisting at Northridge High for five years and as a volunteer at Hillcrest in Tuscaloosa.
He says in order to turn things around, the program is going to have to undergo a culture change.
Smith replaces Jarrett Maddox who resigned last month.
The Tigers have not produced a winning season since 2001.
Smith comes to the Tigers after assisting at Northridge High for five years and as a volunteer at Hillcrest in Tuscaloosa.
He says in order to turn things around, the program is going to have to undergo a culture change.
Smith replaces Jarrett Maddox who resigned last month.
The Tigers have not produced a winning season since 2001.
2015 P/C Reid Agrella Named to 2013 ALaBCA Team Alabama
2015 Dothan Pitcher and Catcher Reid Agrella was recently named to the ALaBCA Alabama All-Star Team. Agrella was picked from a pool of over 100 players after a tryout. Team Alabama will play the All-Star Team from Georgia and Tennessee.
