Jags grab early lead, hold off Wildcats for first win, 7-6

The Northridge Jaguars jumped out to an early lead against the Tuscaloosa County Wildcats on Saturday and held on to get their first win of the 2025 season. After jumping out to a 4-run lead, the Jags held off their in-county rival to secure the 7-6 win.

The Jags hung four runs on the Wildcats in the top of the first inning. After Thomas Woolf and Wyatt Rath reached base via bases on balls, Evan Malone reached first base on a error, loading the bases. Ford Cole’s single to center plated Rath and Woolf, and advanced Malone to second base. After a strike out, Sawyer Thompson doubled to left to score Cole and Malone. A ground out ended the Jag’s half of the inning, with Northridge holding a 4-0 lead over Tuscaloosa County.

The Wildcats picked up single run on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the inning. The Jags failed to score in the top of the second. County added a second run in the bottom of the inning. The Wildcats kept chipping away at the Jaguar lead, scoring another run in the bottom of the third. After three complete, the Jags held a 4-3 lead.

Northridge got back on the board in the top of the fourth. After reaching base due to a County error, Aiden Avery advanced to second on a passed ball. That set up Mayson Elam doubling to left, scoring Avery and giving the Jags a 5-3 lead.

The Wildcats led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo homerun. A double and passed ball allowed a Tuscaloosa County runner to advance to third, then score on a ground-out to short. The inning ended with a 5-5 game.

Northridge added a sixth run in the top of the fifth. Rath reached via a walk, then advanced to second on a throwing error by the third baseman, who was attempting to double up Rath on a hard line drive. A wild pitch allowed Rath to advance to third. Cole grounded into a fielder’s choice that allowed Rath to score. When the inning ended, the Jags were up 6-5.

Northridge held Country scoreless in the bottom of the fifth and added one final run in the top of the sixth. Elam led off the inning being hit by pitch. Woolf got in the books with a single on a hard hit to second, allowing Elam to advance to second. After a pitching change, a wild pitch moved Elam and Woolf to third and second, respectively. Rath picked up an RBI and the Jags’ final run with a sacrifice to right field, scoring Elam. Two subsequent outs left the Jags with a 7-5 lead.

Tuscaloosa County was unable to add and runs in the bottom of the sixth. Likewise, Northridge was unable to add to their lead in the top of the seventh inning.

The Wildcats led off the bottom of the seventh with a single. A passed ball allowed the Wildcat runner to advance to second. After a strikeout, a grounder to first allowed the Wildcat runner advance to third. The Wildcats got their sixth and final run of the game via a wild pitch. With an Elam to Woolf put-out, the Jags closed out the game to secure their first win with a 7-6 victory over Tuscaloosa County.

Six Jags picked up one hit apiece – Elam, Woolf, Malone, Cole, Thompson and Avery. Cole was credited with three RBIs on the afternoon. Thompson followed with two RBIs. Elam and Rath collected one RBI each.

Barron Gatlin got the start on the mound and completed three innings. Gatlin surrendered three runs on three hits, striking out four and issuing four bases on balls. Burns Brumfield gave three innings of service, surrendering two runs on three hits. Brock Story closed out the game on the mound, with two complete innings. Story allowed two hits and gave up one run, while striking out four and issuing one walk.

Of note: The Jags cleaned up their fielding against the Wildcats. After committing seven errors on Friday, the Jags committed only one error on Saturday. Elam was hit by pitch twice. Elam and Thompson each had a double as their hits for the Jags.