Mortimer Jordan baseball

KIMBERLY—The Mortimer Jordan baseball team opened the Class 5 state playoffs with a two-game split with Clay-Central at home on Friday night.

Game 1: Mortimer Jordan 10, Clay-Central 5

Mortimer Jordan (26-12) overcame some shaky defense to strand nine Clay-Central (16-10) runners on base Friday afternoon in a 10-5 Game 1 win over the Volunteers.

Senior Dalton Hall blooped a tiebreaking RBI to short-left field during a five-run sixth inning, which lifted the home team to a runaway win. Jacob Harris followed up with a two-run double to go with RBI singles from Joseph Swann and Garek Hall in the decisive sixth.

Mortimer Jordan carried a 10-5 advantage into the top of the seventh and right-hander Preston Jones recorded the final out with his lone strikeout in three innings of relief.

The Blue Devils came out swinging, pushing four first-inning runs across to take a 4-1 lead over the Volunteers, who chipped away at the deficit and eventually locked the score at 5-all in the top of the fifth.

For Mortimer Jordan, Hall finished 2 for 4 with an RBI to go with a 2 for 4 one-RBI effort from Will Allman. Harris, Hall and Swann also drove runs in for the Blue Devils.

Game 2: Clay-Central 4, Mortimer Jordan 3

Mortimer Jordan led most of the way, but two seventh-inning errors opened the door for a Clay-Central rally. Jacob Bachus grounded into a run-scoring error that sent the Volunteers off with a 4-3 win, forcing a third game Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the second thanks to a two-out RBI single from Griffin Busby and a throwing error by Central-Clay. That lead would stick until the Vols’ big seventh inning. 

Saturday’s game will decide who moves on to the second round of the playoffs where the winner of West Point-Pleasant Grove awaits. 

In the Class 6A bracket, Gardendale split its doubleheader with McAdory. Game 3 will be played on Saturday at Gardendale at 1 p.m. The winner moves on to play the winner of Homewood-Minor in the second round. 

 Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.