Balls don’t leave the yard at Benjamin Russell’s Brooks-Jordan Field as often as at some other stadiums.
The depth of its fence is similar to most high school ballparks, but what makes it difficult to clear is its height, as the entire length of it towers above 10 feet.
Thursday Wetumpka’s baseball team cleared that wall three times in one inning.
“We put some good swings on it, had some good at-bats,” Wetumpka coach Michael Dismukes said. “We square them up like that, they get enough, they’ve got the power to get it over the fence.”
Noah Jones, Dorion Jackson and Kyle Morrison hit shots to left, right and center field, respectively, paving way for an 11-run third inning and 16-1 area win for the Indians over Benjamin Russell.
“We had an inning from Hades and everything that could go wrong did,” Benjamin Russell coach Richy Brooks said. “Against a good team you can’t give extra opportunities and we did that today.”
Andy Anders / The Herald Wetumpka pitcher Jaxon Shineflew hurls a pitch toward the plate Thursday.
On top of the obvious offensive production, Wetumpka pitcher Jaxon Shineflew posted another quality outing on the mound.
Tossing five innings and surrendering just one run, Shineflew struck out 10 batters in a winning performance.
“It’s definitely a Jaxon Shineflew outing,” Dismukes said. “He comes out there and pounds the zone and gets ahead of hitters. And he puts them away. He gives us a chance to win every game.”
Benjamin Russell second baseman SaVon Spradley may have posted the best game of any Wildcat, making two stellar defensive plays in the first two innings. He laid out to spear a scorching line drive off Morrison’s bat to help keep Wetumpka off the board in the second frame.
An RBI double from Shineflew kicked off the production in the Indians’ explosive third inning, giving them a 2-1 lead.
Andy Anders / The Herald Wetumpka third baseman Kyle Morrison (22) goes airborne with a teammate after hitting the third home run of the Indians' third inning Thursday.
Wetumpka’s Doug Johnson reached on an error the following play, and from there the team would register five hits — including the trio of big flies — and eight runs before another out was recorded, stretching its lead to 11-1.
Catcher Garrit Terrell dusted off the monstrous frame with an RBI double to set the score at 12-1 entering the bottom of the third.
“The first two innings we squared some balls up, just right at ‘em,” Dismukes said. “The second baseman made two excellent plays. We stayed with our approach, our plan and it paid off.”
Benjamin Russell and Wetumpka will face off in games two and three of their three-game area series Friday. First pitch for game two is at 4 p.m. at Wetumpka High School.
“We’re going to put it behind us and try to play better tomorrow,” Brooks said.
