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WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — There’s something about Gaven Jones being on the bump that puts Jackson a cut above the rest.
The junior ace has been dominant all season long as he entered Monday with a 4-1 record alongside 48 strikeouts for the 18-win Ironmen.
All of those numbers — pitching wins, strikeouts and team wins — took an uptick when the dust had settled Monday evening.
Jones struckout 13 batters in a complete game effort, lifting Jackson to a 5-2 victory over Miami Trace — a win that clinched the program’s first outright FAC championship.
CREDIT: Seth Fain/Fain Photography
“He’s put in the work to get where he’s at now. In the offseason, he’s working four to five days a week on his hitting, pitching and mechanics, on top of being a heck of a football player as well,” Jackson coach Josh McGraw said. “Unfazed is how I would describe him. He doesn’t get emotional, he stays very even-keeled. I’ve coached him since he was seven years old and, now at 17, I think I’m getting the best version of him.”
The victory marked the Ironmen’ third FAC title in the past four seasons.
“It’s definitely a special moment for us as seniors. We’ve won the FAC before, but this is the first time doing it outright,” Jackson’s Cade Wolford said. “This is a goal that we’ve been working towards for a long time, so it’s exciting as a senior class to be the first ones to do it.”
Jackson (19-4, 9-0 FAC) knew it was imperative to strike early, and it didn’t miss an early chance. After getting two runners on base to open the game, the Ironmen took a 1-0 lead when Jones notched an RBI groundout.
After a quiet second inning, Jackson added to its lead in the third.
Ryan Seimetz registered a sacrifice fly, which was followed by an RBI single back up the middle from Nolan Johnson, extending the lead to 3-0.
However, they weren’t finished providing additional run support.
In the fourth, with two runners on and one out, Bodhi Wolford ripped an RBI single back up the middle. Boston Campbell then notched an RBI groundout of his own, furthering the lead to 5-0.
“We’ve all been playing with a lot of confidence when it comes to batting,” Campbell said. “And to cap it off the way we did tonight means a lot.”
That was more than enough insurance for a cruising Jones on the bump.
He only got stronger as the game progressed, consistently zipping his fastball past hitters and locating his pitches with efficiency.
The only trouble he ran into was in the bottom of the fifth when MT’s Brady Armstrong smoked a two-run double into right-center field, cutting the lead to 5-2.
However, the unfazed part of Jones kicked in throughout the final two innings as he recorded four of the final six outs by way of whiff, totaling his 13 punch outs on the night — 61 on the season.
“It’s a pretty big deal. FAC is tough baseball, and if you slip up, it’s tough to come back from that,” McGraw said. “Gaven pitched a great game and the guys hit the ball really well. I couldn’t be happier for them to accomplish winning the conference three of their four years. It’s a great roll that we’re on, and hopefully that extends into the tournament.”
Following Jones’ final stat line, Johnson finished 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI while Bodhi Wolford went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Seimetz also helped out, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI while Campbell finished 1-for-4 with an RBI.
For Miami Trace (14-7, 7-2 FAC), Brady Armstrong took the loss in four innings, allowing five earned runs and striking out four batters. He also went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
Both teams rematch on Tuesday at Jackson, closing the FAC season.
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