The hard work put into the Boyd Buchanan baseball program over the past five years is starting to come to fruition for coach Stephen Pryor
The Buccaneers have looked like major contenders for the TSSAA Division II-A state title early this season, improving to 10-1 with Thursday's 6-3 home win over Walker Valley, which reached the Class 4A state tournament last year.
Pryor's team has outscored opponents 93-27 in its wins, with the lone loss 14-9 to perennial DII-AA power Baylor — and that game was tied at 7 after three innings.
"We have a lot of guys on our team who have started two, three, four years for us," said Pryor, a former MLB pitcher whose first win came in a combined no-hitter for the Seattle Mariners on June 8, 2012.
"This season is one we have been building toward for a long time. The guys are playing up to their own expectations as well as our expectations for them as a coaching staff. We are playing solid defense, swinging the bats well, running the bases well and starting to pitch better. We are on the up and up."
In his first start on the mound since Tommy John surgery, 6-foot-5 senior left-hander Cooper Jones looked sharp as he picked up the win and did not give up an earned run in three innings.
Jones had a three-pitch mix working, as he struck out his first batter looking on a curve that dropped in on a left-handed hitter, followed by another swinging strikeout on a mid-80s fastball away. He also displayed a nasty changeup, burying the pitch down and away from a right-handed batter for his final strikeout in the third.
"To see Cooper back is huge for this team's confidence," Pryor said. "He missed a lot of time with Tommy John surgery last year, and the year before that he broke his collarbone in a skiing accident. It was good to see him go out and compete and have fun. I am excited to see him keep building up into that starting role and be one of our go-to arms down the stretch."
Boyd Buchanan struck fast with a three-run first inning jump-started by a one-out rip down the left-field line by senior Brodie Johnston for a double. Jones followed with a line-drive single up the middle, and he and Johnston would then execute a double steal for the game's first run. Eli Gardenhire followed with an RBI double over the left fielder's head, and fellow senior Jonathon Tinker singled to right-center to make it 3-0.
Johnston's massive power showed when led off the bottom of the third with a home run. The Vanderbilt signee hit a mile-high fly to left-center that carried and carried before finally leaving the park while he was rounding second base.
In the field, Johnston started a spectacular 6-4-3 double play at shortstop in the first inning, making a backhanded snag before firing a perfect feed to second baseman Haden Griffith to turn and end the inning.
"We have a really strong team that has a lot of good arms who can throw strikes, and we can really hit the ball, too," Johnston said. "If we continue to play team ball and perform our roles, we will be just fine. I am also excited to see Cooper back. He is off to a good start and is going to be a big help for us."
Sophomore catcher Aaron Hise hit a two-run double to right-center in the third for the Bucs, who used 15 players in the game — including freshman Liam Cooper, who pitched a clean seventh for his first save.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.