EJCHS Sports

East Jackson’s second loss this season somewhat mirrored its first.
The Eagles (4-2) found themselves on the short end of another 1-0 pitchers’ duel, this time falling to Cherokee Bluff Wednesday at home in non-region action. East Jackson lost to Apalachee 1-0 back on Feb. 18.
Eagle coach Tedd Sims — whose team was coming off a 7-2 win over Cherokee Bluff Tuesday — called the close loss “a growing process.”
“It’s all about a process,” he said. “Doing the right things every night, playing the game hard every night, and if you get in a buzz saw like this and you come away with a 1-0 loss, you tip your hat to the other team.”
The Bears scored the lone run of Wednesday’s game with an RBI single from Jackson Kemp in the top of the sixth inning.
Cherokee Bluff starter Dylan Kautz threw five no-hit innings before East Jackson broke-up the no-hit bid in the sixth inning. Kautz allowed two hits and struck out 10 batters in six innings of work.
East Jackson starter Cole Sealey threw six innings, allowing four hits and one unearned run with five strikeouts, but was unable to finish out the game after injuring himself while throwing an off-speed pitch in the seventh inning.
“I just know he’s a tough competitor and he’s in a lot of pain,” Sims said. “It’s tough.”
Sealey possibly sustained an elbow injury to his throwing arm, but Sims didn’t want to speculate.
“He said it was his elbow, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions,” he said. “It could just potentially be a pulled muscle and that’s what I’m hoping for.”
Freshman Brayden Redding came on in relief of Sealey and threw a perfect seventh inning.
“I just told him, you never know when your shot is going to be called, and he went out there and got three-straight outs,” Sims said. “He did a great job. I’m proud of him.”
East Jackson missed its best chance to score in the fourth inning when it put runners on second and third with one out, and then later loaded the bases with two outs, but came away empty.
“We didn’t have the timely hit tonight that we had last night against these guys,” Sims said. “Coach (Jeremy) Kemp, he does a good job. We played college ball together, so we know one another very well, and I knew his guys were going to be ready to battle today. I wouldn’t expect anything less. We just competed and fought and battled and you tip your hat to them.”
Sims reiterated his concern for Sealey after the loss.
“Right now, my number one concern is Cole, and (we’ll) just see where we go,” he said.
The Eagles host Riverside Military Friday at 6 p.m.
•EAST JACKSON 7, CHEROKEE BLUFF 2 (TUESDAY): Prior to losing 1-0 on Wednesday, the Eagles went on the road Tuesday and scored four runs in the third inning and three in the sixth inning to pick up a win over Cherokee Bluff.
Halton Hardy threw a complete-game gem, allowing five hits and two runs with 10 strikeouts. He walked just one batter.
The Eagles finished with 14 hits.
Cole Sealey went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and an RBI. Jarrett Pursley went 3-for-4 as well with an RBI. Others with multi-hit games were Caleb Adair (2-for-3, RBI) and Josh Compton (2-for-4).

The East Jackson baseball team is off to a 3-1 start, but it’s the one loss that might speak the most volume about this squad.
The Eagles fell 1-0 Monday on the road to a 5-0 Class AAAAAA Apalachee team that won 15 games a year ago.
“They showed me a lot,” third-year coach Tedd Sims said. “They showed me that they were going to fight for 21 outs. We had some good, quality at-bats late in the game and we made some really good, solid plays defensively. Just the resilience and the focus that they had from the first pitch to the last pitch showed me a lot.”
East Jackson is scheduled to host Riverside Military today (Wednesday) at 6 p.m., followed by two games Saturday at Hebron Christian. The team will play Hebron Christian at 10:30 a.m. and Peachtree Ridge at 1 p.m. Sims was an assistant coach at Peachtree Ridge before taking over at East Jackson.
Forecasted rain may interrupt this week’s schedule. Either way, the Eagles plan to make good use of the time, whether it be playing actual games or putting in work indoors.
“The one thing I’ve tried to stress to them (the players) all a long is that we’ve got to play the cards that we’re dealt,” Sims said. “We’re going to make the most out of any situation that we can.”
In Monday’s loss, East Jackson starting pitcher Cole Sealey threw six innings, allowing three hits and only a second-inning run while striking out two.
“Cole is a warrior,” Sims said. “He’s going to battle. In my opinion, I don’t think he had his best stuff (Monday) night either. He just competed. He pitched with a lot of heart.”
Facing Apalachee’s No. 1 and 2 pitchers, Josh Compton went 2-for-3 for the Eagles, while Dylan Varner and Josiah Stancell had the team’s only other hits.
Facing Apalachee after three straight lopsided wins, Sims said he knew the Wildcats would offer a challenge similar to what his team will see throughout Region 8-AAA play.
“I feel like we got more out of (Monday) night’s 1-0 loss than we have in any of our first three wins,” Sims said.
East Jackson ran roughshod through its first three games, beating Johnson 10-1 last Wednesday and blasting Cedar Shoals 16-1 and 13-3 in a Saturday doubleheader at home.
Sims said he’s found himself in something of a non-region scheduling dilemma, trying to balance games in which his team has an opportunity for success and confidence versus games against upper echelon teams that might lead to tough losses and prove detrimental to confidence.
“That’s the tough part about being a coach is just finding that happy medium as to which route you go,” Sims said.
That said, Sims was pleased with the way his squad handled the first three contests.
“We did a lot of good things the first three games,” he said. “We took care of business the way we were supposed to take care of business. It definitely showed that we’ve grown in the past three years.”
In last Wednesday’s season opener against Johnson, Sealey threw a gem, fanning 10 batters over six innings while allowing just two hits and one earned run. Caleb Adair worked two shutout innings of relief, allowing no hits and striking out six.
Sealey had a big night at the plate, too, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI with three runs scored. Varner went 2-for-3, while Adair (1-for-3) drove home two runs.
Then on Saturday, the Eagles piled up 15 runs in the first two innings in Game 1 of the doubleheader against Cedar Shoals — including 11 in the first — in a game that lasted just four innings.
East Jackson was aided by eight Jaguar errors. Cedar Shoals surrendered seven unearned runs.
Josh Compton threw an abbreviated one-hitter with eight strikeouts, allowing one earned run.
Halton Hardy doubled twice, going 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Luke Lindsey went 2-for-3 with three RBIs as well, while Sealey went 2-for-2 with an RBI. Adair went 2-for-2 with a double.
Game 2 followed a similar plot line as East Jackson sprinted out to a 13-0 lead after three innings to help bring the game to an early end in the fifth inning.
The Eagles finished with 12 hits in the contest, led by Braxton Standridge, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, and Gavin Beck, who went 1-for-1 with a double and three RBIs. Others contributing were Adair (2-for-4, RBI), Compton (2-for-2) and Varner (2-for-2, double)
Varner threw three perfect innings, striking out two, to start the game, before giving way to the Eagle bullpen.

While East Jackson coach Tedd Sims told his team it’s hard to be cocky after going 12-18 last year, there are plenty of reasons to be confident.
The Eagles surrendered 86 fewer runs in 2018 compared to 2017 and scored 75 more. What’s more, the 12 victories tripled the team’s win total over 2017 and set a school record.
“The first day I got here, I talked about trusting the process,” Sims said. “Year one was pretty tough for me, but I believe in the guys and I believe in our coaching staff, and I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
This year’s Eagles, who open the season today at home against Johnson, will look to build on those marks in year three of Sims’ tenure on the eastside.
Sims has added an assistant coach, Scott Myers, to his staff to go with assistant coach Caleb Hardy, who has worked alongside Sims since he arrived at East Jackson.
While this year’s team has no senior class, it does return a strong core of eight juniors (Cole Sealey, Halton Hardy, Caleb Adair, Josiah Stansell, Josh Compton, Jarrett Pursley, Jake Varner and Sawyer Irwin). Those eight juniors have played exclusively under Sims at East Jackson, which is no small footnote for a program that had four coaches in a five-year stretch (2013-2017). Sims said this class has bought into the coaching staff’s standard for the program. It’s also taken on a leadership role in the absence of seniors.
“The eight juniors have definitely taken on these younger kids and sort of mentored them, and that’s what you really want … I’m very proud of the way they’re leading by example with these younger backs,” Sims said.
Many of the players that headlined last year’s team are back.
The team’s top two pitchers — Sealey and Hardy — return after solid sophomore campaigns. Sealey went 3-5 with a 2.86 ERA, while Hardy was 2-4 with a 3.79 ERA. Adair and Compton have quality arms, according to Sims, and will be counted on this spring.
“In our region, we’re going to have to have some depth, and I’m very confident in the arms that we’re going to put on the bump,” Sims said.
The offensive lineup welcomes back two players who hit over .300 last year — Cole Sealey (.364) and Jake Varner (.319).
“I feel like we’ll be better offensively than we were last year just because it’s a confidence thing,” said Sims, whose team has benefitted from the addition of an indoor hitting facility.
The Eagles return experience in a number of spots defensively with Hardy (shortstop), Sealey (centerfield), Adair (utility), Compton (outfield) and Varner (catcher and outfield).
“Honestly, we’ve got some pieces to the puzzle that we can interchange this year, which is a good thing,” Sims said.
The coach added that Pursley and younger players like Gavin Beck, Dylan Varner, Luke Lindsey, Noah Watts and Brayden Redding will also compete for positions.
The Eagles find themselves in a tough region 8-AAA that got even tougher with the addition of Class AAAA state champion Jefferson, which dropped down to 8-AAA. Last year’s 8-AAA champion, Morgan County, reached the Class AAA Final Four last year. Runner-up Franklin County reached the Sweet 16.
“It’s a grind, and playing a three-game series against every team, your goal is to go out and take two out of three every series,” Sims said. “We’re going to have to play quality ball, pitch good, play defense and have timely hits. There’s not a region team in our region where you can just show up and win the game.”
That said, East Jackson’s goal is to reach the state tournament.
“When I got here, year one, I sort of looked at a four-year vision and like I said, with eight juniors this year, I really thought year three could be the year we could compete and I’m looking forward to a great year this year,” Sims said.
Entering his third season, Sims believes he’s finally instilling the culture he envisioned when he first took the East Jackson job.
“It’s something that I thought I could come in here and just snap my fingers and get it to go my direction, and it just wasn’t that easy,” Sims said. “But with these eight juniors who’ve only been underneath me and coach (Caleb) Hardy and now coach (Scott) Myers. I feel like the culture has definitely taken the right turn in the right direction.”

The East Jackson boys’ basketball season ended last Monday with a 71-55 loss to rival Jackson County in the region tournament, and coach David Akin didn’t sugarcoat the defeat.
“This loss is a tough one, perhaps one of the toughest ever in my career considering the circumstances,” Akin said.
The circumstances included the team’s two best players not being 100 percent. Tay Howard was recovering from the flu and Makayl Rakestraw played with a severely sprained wrist. Howard finished with 10 points, and Rakestraw had just five.
“As much as I wish we could have been at full strength, I certainly do not want to take anything away from Jackson County,” Akin said. “Tay Howard certainly dedicated himself to this program and to have to play in the condition he did, truly says a lot about his character and drive to win. He could barely stand up after the game. I just hate it for him and our seniors that this is how it ends.”
Jackson County also employed box-and-one and triangle-and-two defenses to slow the duo.
“We had a good feeling they were going to a box-and-one and triangle-and-two,” Akin said. “We worked on how to handle it and had a good game plan for it. We just didn’t execute it very well. Instead, we let the crowd dictate what we did instead of listening to the coaches and sticking to what was working. Unfortunately, sometimes that happens with young players.”
Akin said he hopes the loss will motivate his returning players.
“I am afraid some of our younger players thought this season was going to be easy based off last year’s success,” he said. “Perhaps now they will be more willing to work hard in the off season. Looking forward, we return seven players who now have plenty of game experience to be successful.”
•NOTE: Howard was named to the all-region team for 8-AAA.