Jackets’ Quest for Baseball Championship Ends with 7-5 Loss to Bradford
By Terry Futrell
There is an old saying that “all good things must come to an end.” So it was for the Coalfield Yellow Jackets as their quest for a state baseball championship ended on Friday with a 7-5 loss to Bradford. The Jackets fell behind 7-1 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, then fought back to add four runs but fell short, losing in the final game of the losers bracket.
Bradford took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Will Taylor singled on a ground ball to shortstop Levi Heidel. Coalfield pitcher Cole Hines walked Cason Sharp, followed by a triple by Carver Cates, scoring both Taylor and Sharp. Cates scored when Hines was called with a balk.
Coalfield leadoff batter Cole Hines singled, stole second, advanced to third on a balk, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Luke Treece. Levi Brasel was hit by a pitch and Brayden Burgess singled, but both were stranded on base as the inning closed.
Bradford added two more runs in the top of the second to take a 5-1 lead. After striking out the first two batters, Cole Hines hit one batter with a pitch, then walked the next two batters to load the bases. A single by Cason Sharp scored one run, Hines then hit another batter with the bases loaded, scoring another run for Bradford. Levi Heidel relieved Hines as pitcher and struck out the final batter.
Neither team scored again until Bradford added two more runs in the top of the fourth. Bryce Arnold and Cason Sharp both singled for Bradford. Arnold scored on a sacrifice fly. Sharp scored from third base as Coalfield’s defense caught Braxton Whitney trying to steal second. Bradford led 7-1.
Coalfield responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Levi Heidel led off with a double, Zach Armstrong walked, and Heidel scored on a sacrifice bunt by Aiden Sexton. Reilly Brown singled, advancing Armstrong to third. Armstrong scored on a balk by Bradford’s pitcher. Rommel Conlon walked, then Cole Hines was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Luke Treece lined into a double play to end the inning with Coalfield trailing 3-7.
Even though two Bradford batters reach base on errors by Coalfield in the top of the fifth inning, Bradford was unable to score thanks to two key defensive plays by Coalfield. With runners on first and third, Ethan Richardson bunted into a fielder’s choice, and Zach Armstrong fired the ball to catcher Luke Treece for a putout on Jeb Allen who was advancing to home. Carver Cates attempted to steal home on a passed ball and was caught by passes from Luke Treece to Cole Hines and back to Treece.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Levi Heidel and Zach Armstrong each doubled, with Heidel scoring. Coalfield trailed Bradford 4-7 after five innings.
After a scoreless sixth inning and top of the seventh, Coalfield had one more opportunity in the bottom of the seventh. It looked promising for the Jackets as Levi Brasel was hit by a pitch and Brayden Burgess reached base on an error. Zach Armstrong reached base on an error that also scored Brasel. Trailing 5-7, the Jackets had runners on first and second. The final two Coalfield batters flied out and grounded out to end the inning with two Jackets stranded on base. Bradford won the game 7-5, ending Coalfield’s season and championship hopes.
In an interesting side note, we have seen many baseball games this season and cannot recall a single balk call by an umpire. In this game, the umpire called five balks, two on Coalfield pitchers and three on Bradford pitchers. One would expect more consistency from regular season games to state tournament games.
Lest you feel sorry for the Coalfield players, consider this. First, they are a young team – their future looks very bright. There are no seniors on the team, and four freshman and two eighth graders saw action in this state tournament. Second, these young men played their hearts out, leaving nothing on the field. There is no reason for shame, and every reason for folks in Coalfield and all of Morgan County to beam with pride at their accomplishments this season.