The progress was evident. Each game the improvement of the Tigers play from one game to the next could easily be recognized as they kept knocking on the door of the first win of the 2024 prep baseball season. This past Thursday, JHHS didn’t knock, they knocked the door down.
The youthful Tigers scored 8 runs in the first three innings against Sicily Island to pave the way to their inaugural win of the year, a 12-2 thrashing of Sicily Island after opening the season with five straight losses.
It was the total team effort that second year head coach Zach Cheatwood has been looking for as 8 of the 9 starters scored and 7 got hits. Duke Tew, Marquis Baker and Landon Boston led the way by scoring two runs each with Waylon Evans, Trey Trosclair, Pierce Ulloa, John Self and Logan Smithall crossing home plate once apiece.
Fifteen times JHHS batters reached base, led by Logan Smith who had two hits including a triple. Self, Baker, Boston and Tew also got on twice with Trosclair who was the winning pitcher after striking out a career high 14 batters in 5.2 innings of work, reaching base three times with a hit, getting hit by a pitch and coaxing a walk.
JHHS also set a new season best in stolen bases with Smith, Tew and Baker all swiping two each and Trosclair and Evans adding to the 8 steals total.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
| Sicily Island (0-6) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Jonesboro-Hodge (1-5) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 0 |
3B – Smith
RBI – Evans, Trosclair, Smith, Ulloa, Boston
Runs – Boston 2, Tew 2, Baker 2, Smith, Ulloa, Trosclair, Evans Baude, Self
Steals – Smith 2, Tew 2, Baker 2, Trosclair, Evans
Saline 4 JHHS 2: Pierce Ulloa and Logan Smith held Saline to just four hits and four runs, but Bryce Davis did even better, by allowing just two hits and two runs while striking out a season best 16 Tigers. the loss extended the Tigers season opening losing streak to five games while Saline improved to 4-1 on the young season.
Saline jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second when Conner Roberts doubled in Johnathan Bunker, who had gotten hit by a pitch followed by back to back hits from Jackson Bougues and Braydon Robinson. The Tigers narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the next inning as Duke Tew and Trey Trosclair got free passes and and then scored on throwing errors. Marquis Baker and Dakota Knox got the two hits for JHHS wiht Tew stealing two bases and Trosclair and Knox swiping one each. Corley, Davis and Gunner Fontenot, who got the other hit for Saline, all stole one base each.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Saline (4-1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| JHHS (0-5) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
2B – Roberts (S)
RBI – Corley (S), Roberts (S), Robinson (S)
Runs – Tew (J), Trosclair (J), Bunker (S), Roberts (S), Bougues (S), Robinson (S)
Steals – Tew (J) 2, Trosclair (J), Knox (J), Corley (S), Davis (S), Fontenot (S)