JEFFERSON — Even Tommy Knight admitted he was somewhat surprised after his Jefferson baseball team walked away with an improbable three-game sweep of Stephens County last week.
All three wins were by one run (2-1, 1-0, 2-1) and the Dragons yielded just two total runs to an Indians squad that was averaging over seven runs a game and had lost just once all season coming into the crucial Region 8-4A showdown.
“Our goal is just to try and win the next game,” Knight said. “To sweep a team like Stephens, that was surprising. Not that we weren’t capable, it’s just that I feel all the teams in this region are so close sweeping anyone is a surprise. We were thankful and then we moved on to the next one.”
Before that sweep the Dragons had knocked off North Oconee senior Kumar Rocker, one of the top pitching prospects in the nation, but then dropped the final game of the series. Their two wins over the Titans were also by one run. They are 7-2 in one-run games this season.
“To beat that guy was something but we lost the next game to their No. 3 pitcher which just shows that anyone in this region can beat anyone on any given day. We try not to take anything for granted,” Knight said.
The Stephens County sweep is part of a current five-game winning streak in region play that has put the Dragons (14-6, 7-1 Region 8-4A) two games ahead of St. Pius and three games ahead of the rest of the pack that includes two state quarterfinalists (Stephens County and Madison County) and a Sweet 16 in Oconee County from last season.
Coming into the season pitching was expected to be the Dragons forte. They have not disappointed on the mound behind seniors Patrick Hickox and Brandon Trefren.
Hickox (6-0) has been as dominant as any hurler in north Georgia with a 1.0 earned run average and has surrendered just one walk and one hit batsman all season. Trefren is 5-2 with a 2.51 ERA with six starts. Add in juniors Lane Watkins (1.91 ERA) and Vinny Farley (2-0, 2.05 ERA, 2 saves) on the back in of the rotation and freshman standout Derek Vaughn (0-1, 0.00 ERA 7 SV) to close out games and Knight may have one of the deepest staffs in Class 4A. Vaughn closed out two of the three wins over Stephens County.
“Patrick has been unbelievable and Brandon and Lane and Vinny have really given us the kind of starting pitching we thought we could have,” Knight said. “Vinny and Derek both have nice surprises. Derek has given us that guy at the end that you can rely on. We think our pitching has been better than we thought it would be, which has been what has driven us so far.”
But without a reliable defense, any pitching staff can be exposed. Jefferson may have one of the better middle defenses in the state in senior second base Billy Finch, junior shortstop Zac Corbin, and senior center fielder Justin Cole.
“Those three have been tremendous in the field,” Knight said. “Overall we’ve played very well in the field which also makes your pitching even tougher.”
If there is a slight kink in the armour at this point in the season it is the offense. The Dragons have scored more than five runs in a game just three times, including Wednesday’s 8-1 win over Oconee County in region play.
Knight said he’s confident that their pitching can keep them in any game. But he also knows they will need some better offensive production to have any hopes of making a playoff run. Jefferson was held to just two total runs in a first round loss to eventual semifinalist Heritage, Catoosa in last year’s playoffs.
Cobin, Watkins, catcher Mason Cooper, and designated hitter Clayton Jones give the Dragons a solid nucleus.
After one more game against Oconee County on Friday, the Dragons finish region play against St. Pius and Madison County.
“We feel like we have the guys that can swing the bats and score runs,” he said. “But for whatever reason we just haven’t been able to really string some innings together except for a couple of games. Two or three runs isn’t going to get it done most days.
“We have a lot of guys with tremendous potential. Hopefully they’ll start to heat up as we get closer to the playoffs, which we hope we’re able to get in again. Two really good teams in this region will not be moving on and we want to make sure we're not one of the two.”
