By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
GULF SHORES – The Moody Blue Devils baseball team have had a bit of a roller coaster of a season thus far, but during a trip to Gulf Shores, it appears they have found their groove.
The Blue Devils stared off pretty good, going 7-4 in their first 11 games. They then dropped four straight before rebounding and winning three of the next four.
Fast forward to the Gulf Coast Classic over spring break where the Blue Devils went 3-1 against some pretty good competition.
The first game was on Monday against Lincoln. The Blue Devils dug themselves a 5-0 hole headed into the bottom of the third inning. From there, Moody would score a single run in each inning from the third thru the seventh. Despite the effort, Lincoln put up a run in the sixth that would be the difference in the 6-5 loss for Moody. However, something clicked, and Moody would have much success for the remainder of their spring break. In the game, JP Leatherwood started the game, going two-plus innings and giving up three hits, five runs and striking out two. Cole Self would enter the game during the third and give up no hits, no runs and three strikeouts. Brady Dodd would finish things up in the loss with three innings pitched, giving up four hits, one run and striking out two batters. At the plate, a host of Blue Devils had a single RBI.
The second game of the day-one doubleheader would see Moody play Collinsville. The Panthers would jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first, but the Moody defense would tighten and not allow another run for the remainder of the game. The Moody bats would put up enough runs in the next three innings to win the game, but they would explode in the fifth inning with 6 runs to add the proverbial exclamation point to the game and seal a 12-3 victory to end the day. Bryant Hardin would go the distance allowing four hits, three runs and striking out six in the win. Mason Morris and Landon Cherry, who also had a home run, would lead at the plate with three RBI each.
After a rained-out Tuesday, the Blue Devils would face Fort Payne on Wednesday in a much closer game than the one they played before. Moody would pick up the 2-0 win in a defensive battle that was tied at zero until the final inning. In that inning, Braden Wright would get on base after being hit by a pitch and then Noah Landers doubled to bring him home. Drew Brown would hit a double that would bring home Cole Self, who was pinch running for Landers and that is how the runs would be scored for the Blue Devils. Landon Cherry got the complete game win, giving up just one hit and striking out six batters in the shutout.
The weekend finale for Moody would be a 3-0 win over Oak Forest on Thursday in another stellar pitching performance from the Blue Devils. Moody would get a run in the second, fourth and seventh innings with Drew Brown leading the way with 2 RBI. Brady Dodd got the win, going all seven innings and allowing just three hits and striking out four.
Eamonn Kelly, Moody’s head coach, is optimistic after his team’s 3-1 showing in Gulf Shores. “The team has started to put it together over the last couple of weeks. Really playing team baseball. We’ve started to figure out our rotation and our lineup. Our role players are understanding their roles and helping this team out by doing their jobs. This week was huge playing some tough competition! We faced some really good pitchers and got it done. We got three complete games out of a few of our top guys. I’m just proud of them and happy to be their coach! The last two weeks are going to be really fun!”
The Blue Devils sit at 13-11 overall heading into the final stretch of the season. They will face off against Ramsay at home on Tuesday and travel to play the same Ramsay team on Thursday.