SPRING HILL, Tenn. – The Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (24-8, 7-3) locked up the 2-seed in the upcoming District 9-AAAA Tournament following a doubleheader sweep at Spring Hill (8-17, 3-7), 6-0 and 13-4, respectively, on Tuesday. 

“I’m excited that our guys get to play the district tournament at home,” SCHS Head Coach Chase Jones said postgame, “I feel like home field advantage is a big thing for us to have, and I’m excited that they get to play in it at home.”

In game one, Stephen Bobo threw a complete-game no-hitter, fanning 10 batters while allowing just one walk on 100 pitches. This was Bobo’s second-consecutive outing with double-digit strikeouts with the first coming at Columbia Central with 11 strikeouts. 

“He [Stephen Bobo] is one of those where you just roll him out on the mound and anytime he’s on the mound you always feel like you have a great opportunity to win,” Jones said about his star sophomore lefty, “He’s done that all year long; he steps on the mound and he takes that full-on compete mode and he does a great job for us.”

Shelbyville’s offense helped out its starter, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning against Spring Hill starter, William Bailey. First, William Bobo led things off with a walk, then stole second and advanced to third after the throw sailed into center field, allowing Caden Duggin to single home the first run of the game. Stephen Bobo singled, then Caden Peacock lined a 2-RBI double to the wall to extend the Golden Eagles’ lead to 3-0. Palmer Edwards worked a walk, and then Reager Edwards bunted home Peacock to score the fourth and final run of the inning.

Bailey gave up two more runs in the bottom of the third inning to fall behind 6-0 before getting pulled in the fourth. Bailey went 3.2 innings on the mound, giving up six earned runs on 10 hits and four walks while striking out two batters on 83 pitches. Gary Cox came on in relief, throwing the final 2.1 innings and giving up just two hits and three walks with two strikeouts on 36 pitches. Spring Hill escaped a bases-loaded jam two different times, in all leaving 14 Golden Eagles’ runners stranded on base in the game. The Raiders’ infield  also threw out two Shelbyville runners at the plate.

For the Golden Eagles, William Bobo went 2-3 with a pair of walks and a pair of stolen bases, Caden Duggin went 2-5 with an RBI, and Stephen Bobo finished 2-2 with a walk and a HBP. Caden Peacock went 1-4 with a 2-RBI double, Palmer Edwards went 1-2 with a triple and a pair of walks, and Reager Edwards finished 2-3 with an RBI and a walk. Blake Bone and Michael Estrada also chipped in with a single apiece at the bottom of the lineup.

For game two, and with the 2-seed already locked up, Jones tweaked the lineup, and the Golden Eagles’ offense erupted for 13 runs on 16 hits after slapping 12 hits in game one. 

William Bobo got the start on the mound, throwing 5.0 innings and giving up three earned runs on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts on 74 pitches. Michael Estrada pitched the sixth inning, striking out three batters with one walk on 19 pitches, and then Palmer Edwards recorded the final three outs in the seventh, giving up one run on two hits and a walk while striking out one batter on 30 pitches.

For the Raiders, Ethan Christie got the ball to start, throwing 5.0 innings and giving up nine runs, four earned, on 12 hits and two walks while striking out two batters on 91 pitches. Will McGlacken came over from shortstop to relieve Christie, but McGlacken gave up four earned runs on four hits and five walks in 1.1 innings of work on 50 pitches. 

Spring Hill actually took an early lead, 1-0, in the bottom of the first inning after Clay Robinson’s leadoff double led to a sac-fly from Nolan Brister. 

Shelbyville responded with a run in the top of the second inning, and then exploded for five runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-1 lead. 

In the home half, Landon Reilly launched a two-run home run to cut the lead to three runs, 6-3, before the Golden Eagles plated three runs of their own to take a 9-3 lead. 

Neither team scored again until Stephen Bobo clobbered his team-leading fifth home run of the season to spark a four-run top of the seventh inning against McGlacken to take a 13-3 lead. Spring Hill got one run back in the home half, but ultimately succumbed to Shelbyville, 13-4. 

William Bobo went 3-5 at the plate with an RBI, Caden Duggin went 2-3 with an RBI and a pair of walks, and Stephen Bobo finished 3-5 with three RBIs and a home run. Caden Peacock went 2-4 in the cleanup spot with three RBIs of his own along with a walk, Palmer Edwards worked a pair of walks, and Reager Edwards finished 2-5 at the plate. Brody Thomas went 2-3 with a pair of walks, and Eli Laye went 2-3 with an RBI and a HBP.

Shelbyville closes out the season with five non-district games, culminating on Monday, April 28th, at home against Tullahoma. The District 9-AAAA Tournament then begins on Wednesday, April 30th, but the Golden Eagles will play their first tournament game on Thursday instead as the 2-seed.