Rematch
- Updated: March 3, 2025
After playing an 11-inning Calhoun County championship game a year ago, top seed Oxford, No. 2 Alexandria set to battle in another county final.
Calhoun County baseball tournament
All games at Choccolocco Park
FRIDAY, Feb. 28
First round
No. 12 Faith Christian 9, No. 13 Anniston 3
No. 11 Jacksonville Christian 15, No. 14 Saks 3
No. 7 Donoho 15, No. 10 Weaver 11
No. 8 Pleasant Valley 6, No. 9 Wellborn 3
No. 5 Jacksonville 17, Faith 0
No. 6 Ohatchee 12, JCA 2
SATURDAY. March 1
Quarterfinals
Jacksonville 3, No. 4 White Plains 2
No. 2 Alexandria 9, Donoho 5
No. 3 Piedmont 15, Ohatchee 0
No. 1 Oxford 15, Pleasant Valley 0
MONDAY, March 3
Semifinals
Alexandria 4, Piedmont 1
Oxford 5, Jacksonville 0
TUESDAY, March 4
Championship
Oxford vs. Alexandria, 5 p.m.
Editor’s note: Tuesday’s championship game has moved up to 5 p.m, in hopes of getting the game played, getting through postgame awards and getting fans back home ahead of anticipated inclement weather. Again, first pitch 5 p.m.
Piedmont-Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA 4, PIEDMONT 1: Bray Goode allowed two hits and struck out 12 batters in six innings of work and prevailed in a battle with Piedmont’s Brodie Homesley.
“It’s confidence, and we started putting some runs on the board,” said Goode, a University of South Alabama signee and returning star from Alexandria’s Class 5A state-title teams of 2024. “I just gained more confidence.
“All of the pitches were working, so I just felt confidence out there, throwing the ball.”
The two left-handed pitchers are two of the county’s best pitchers.
“I can’t say enough about Bray,” Alexandria coach Zac Welch said. “This season has been a little slow starting for him, personally, but he’s grinded it out. He’s stayed the course. Tonight, he really showed what he’s capable of.
“Piedmont is a great team. Coach (Matt) Deerman does a great job, and Bray Goode went out and competed against a very seasoned Homesley. What a game he threw. Can’t say enough about the pitching matchup we just saw.”
Homesley spread out seven hits with five strikeouts and three walks in six innings, but errors cost Piedmont. Alexandria scored the first two runs of the game on Goode’s single plus an error, and a Jacob Cunningham grounder up the middle became a two-run error in the fifth inning.
Homesley “gave us a chance to win,” Piedmont coach Matt Deerman said. “He did his job. For the most part, he stayed ahead in counts. …
“We’ve just got to make plays behind him. That’s the biggest thing.”
Piedmont closed to within 2-1 on Cole Wilson’s RBI single in the fourth inning. Brayden Estes scored from second base, sliding home and beating the relay throw.
Alexandria’s Jeremiah Heathcock struck out two batters while working the seventh inning. Welch said Heathcock will start Tuesday’s championship game against the Oxford-Jacksonville winner.
“Jeremiah Heathcock is our number two, and we have a lot of confidence in him,” Welch said. “I believe he threw 10 (pitches), or around 10, so he’ll be available to start tomorrow.”
— Joe Medley
Jacksonville-Oxford
OXFORD 5, JACKSONVILLE 0: Ayden Noyola pitched a four-hitter, and top-seeded Oxford advanced to face Alexandria in Tuesday’s county final.
First pitch is 5 p.m. Oxford will likely start Gavin Griner, and Bryson Bradford would be available to pitch.
“I think he (Griner) will start,” Oxford coach Travis Janssen said. “It’ll be either him or Bradford. I think we’re probably going to throw a bunch of different guys. That’s the plan right now unless one of them tells me they’re feeling really, really good.
“We’ve been playing a lot, so I don’t think there will be very high pitch counts, but Gavin and Bradford will pitch in some capacity.’
Noyola struck out two batters and allowed no walks in six innings before giving way to Aakash Lee, who retired all three batters he faced in the seventh.
James Tapley’s single scored Marcus Lawler to give Oxford a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, and Hudson Gilman’s RBI double put Oxford up 2-0 in the fourth.
After Jacksonville changed pitchers, subbing Maquire Mallett for starter Matthew Salmon in the going into the Oxford fifth, the Yellow Jackets added three runs on Rocco Maniscalco’s RBI double and Lawler’s two run double to make it 5-0.
Salmon worked four innings, allowing four hits and one earned run with one strikeout and three walks.
“I thought there was a lot of positive stuff,” Jacksonville coach Jamison Edwards said. “Matt did a pretty good job. The two walks he had, they made us pay for both of them. They’re probably as good of a hitting team as we’ve played all year, and we knew that coming in, but he did a good job.
“We wanted him to get through the lineup twice, and we were going to turn it over to Maquire, just because he’s front the left side, and I thought Matt did a good job of keeping it within striking distance. And then with Maquire, they had that inning where they started finding the holes.”
Lawler, a junior who transferred from Donoho before the current school year, was Oxford’s offensive standout, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run. While Oxford traditionally plays in the county final, Lawler will play in his first county final.
“I’ve never experienced it before,” he said. “It’s a good feeling.”
Lawler was Oxford’s designated hitter Monday but has seen time in the infield, as well.
“He’s like an excited little guy that’s like that little dog that nips you in the ankles,” Janssen said. “He’s a little pesky little guy who plays hard, and he’s doing everything really, really fast. There’s times he needs to slow down.
“He’s brought a guy that’s hitting over .300, and we’ve batted him two hole. We’ve batted him eight and nine. We’ve batted him sixth and moved him around different places. He’s been pretty steady with the bat. The best spot for him is in the infield. Right now, our infield is crowded, but when one of the infielders pitches, he’s able to play infield. We’re really glad to have him.”
— Joe Medley
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