SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – The Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (1-0) utilized stellar pitching and timely hitting to secure an Opening Night win over Murfreesboro Central Magnet (1-2), 6-3, on Monday night. 

The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 5-1 lead after three innings

Stephen Bobo went 2-3 at the plate while driving in three runs, including a home run in the third  and a 2-RBI double in the fifth. Brody Lovvorn, Palmer Edwards, Caden Peacock, and Reager Edwards all tallied a base hit as well. 

“He [Stephen Bobo] is really getting comfortable,” Shelbyville Head Coach Chase Jones said postgame. “We got a few others that are really getting comfortable at the plate, but Stephen [Bobo] is going to be fun to watch.”

William Bobo was masterful on the mound, going 5.1 innings giving up just five hits and two earned runs while striking out eight and only walking one.

“William threw well,” Jones said postgame. “Him, and Stephen [Bobo] and Palmer [Edwards] are going to be our three starters, and then we have a lot of younger guys that are going to help us in relief.”

“I think pitching could be a strength for us.”

William Bobo (11) got the start and picked up the win after going 5.1 innings and striking out eight batters against Central Magnet on Opening Night.

T-G Staff Photo

Pitching certainly was a strength for the Golden Eagles on Monday. Ashton Worley came on in relief for Bobo in the top of the sixth, finding a way to strand a pair of baserunners with a pair of strikeouts. Palmer Edwards came on in the seventh and promptly struck out the side to close out the win and record the save.

“He [Edwards] looked good,” said Jones, “It looked like his velocity was up a little bit for him too. He’s going to start on Thursday [against Marshall County] so we wanted to get him about 20 pitches tonight and then have him ready for Thursday.”

Jon-micael Courtney got the start on the mound for Central Magnet, but he only threw two innings after being hit by a pitch in the top of the third inning. Courtney gave up four hits and three runs with two earned while striking out just one and walking another on 29 pitches. Henry Long came on in relief, giving up the solo homer to Bobo in the third while striking out one and walking one on 15 pitches.

Elijah Bonner recorded three outs in the fourth despite walking one batter on 16 pitches, and then Braylon Dowell threw the final two innings, giving up one hit and two unearned runs while striking out four and walking two on 35 pitches. 

To start the game, William Bobo was hit by the very first pitch from Courtney, and he eventually came around to score on a sac-fly from Stephen Bobo for the Golden Eagles first run of the night.

In the second inning, Shelbyville scored two more runs, first on a wild pitch from Courtney and then a sac fly from Michael Estrada drove home Reager Edwards to extend the hosts’ lead to 3-0.

In the top of the third, Central Magnet got on the board on an infield single from John Roth, but then in the home half Stephen Bobo barreled a ball over the right-centerfield wall for Shelbyville’s first home run of the young season to push their lead back to three runs, 4-1. 

Neither team scored in the fourth, and then following another scoreless frame from William Bobo on the mound, the Golden Eagles drove home two more runs following an RBI double from Stephen Bobo to left field and another wild pitch that allowed Bobo to touch home and score Shelbyville’s sixth and final run of the night. 

Central Magnet scraped home a pair of runs in the top of the sixth before Worley stranded a pair on second and third with a strikeout to end the inning before Edwards closed things out in the seventh.

Shelbyville improves to 1-0 and will travel to Franklin County on Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 5:30 p.m. LIVE on WLIJ 98.7 and AM 1580.