STATESBORO - Statesboro head coach Chris Bishop notched career win number 300 as the Statesboro Blue Devils swept a Region 1-AAAAA doubleheader Friday with Bradwell Institute at Mill Creek Park, taking the opener 8-0 and the nightcap 8-3.
“I really had no idea this was my 300th win,” Bishop said. “They came up to me and told me after the game and it was kind of shocking. I guess that means I have been coaching for a while, and I have had a lot of great players to help me get to this point. I’m much prouder that we were able to sweep Bradwell and put ourselves in a great spot in the region.”
Brian Deal took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in the opener, allowing only Dustin Snelson’s flare for a single to open the seventh.
“I felt like Brian pitched really well,” Bishop said. “I thought we were really focused in the first game and were able to take advantage of a couple mistakes by Bradwell and played solid defense.”
In the second game the Blue Devils scored in only two innings, but they scored four innings in each of those two frames. Bradwell came back to cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the fifth, but Statesboro immediately responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take an 8-2 lead.
“I don’t know if we were focused as much in the second game, but we made the plays when we had to,” Bishop said. “I thought Bruce Yawn pitched pretty well and everyone hit pretty well. We had a few errors but fortunately that didn’t really hurt us.”
Deal, Denim Mincey and Mathis Lanier had two hits each in the second game. Yawn had a pair of RBIs and also earned the win on the mound. Yawn threw 4. 2/3 innings, allowing only one earned run on one hit and struck out eight.
In the opener, Landon Yates led the way at the plate with three hits, while Yawn added a pair of hits. T.J. Durden and Drew Yawn each had two RBIs.
The three-game sweep, including a 13-2 Statesboro win at BI, put the Blue Devils into second place in the region standings with two more series ahead.
The Tigers fell to 3-6 in the region and 6-11 for the season.
Statesboro improved to 12-6-1 overall and 6-3 in the region with Friday’s sweep.
“I usually tell our guys not to look ahead,” Bishop said. “This year I have let them know if we take care of business against Jenkins it is going to come down to our series with Greenbrier. If we get some help, we have a chance to win the region and if we can win a game or maybe two, we should be able to secure second place and earn a home state playoff berth.”