Stock photo/ MorgueFile

Athens Bible’s Eli Olree was back on the mound in Thursday’s away matchup against the Elkmont Red Devils, in what was much more of an offensive showcase for both teams, with ABS coming off a no-hit shutout March 3 in Olree’s last time on the hill against the Clements Colts.

Since that game the Trojans have gone 1-1, with one victory over the Falkville Blue Devils 22-20 and one loss to the Wildcats of West Limestone 11-1. But on Thursday, the Trojans found their offense once again, defeating Elkmont 18-11. 

Athens Bible got on the board right out of the gate in the top half of the first inning after a leadoff hit by pitch by Trojan Cody Graviett and walks to Colin Abernathy and Ethan Johnson. Olree reached base on an error by the centerfielder, allowing all three runs to reach home plate and giving the Trojans a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the first inning. 

In their half of the first, Elkmont’s Kevin Mykell Murrah had an RBI double to score Braxton Ryan Boyd. Batting cleanup for the Red Devils was Ty Roberts, and clean up is what he did by notching an RBI single to drive in Boyd to bring the score to 3-2. The Red Devils tied the game up at 3-3 after Roberts scored on a passed ball. 

The Trojans added four more runs in the second inning on a RBI single by Graviett and a two-run double by Drake Richter. Two batters later, Abernathy added an RBI single driving in Richter to make it 7-3. 

In the bottom of the second, the Red Devils picked up where they left off in the first by once again tying things up at seven apiece in large part due to six total walks in the inning. 

The Trojans added two more runs in the fourth, but the Red Devils were able to secure their first lead of the game in the bottom half of the inning. Thomas hit a two-out, three-run triple to make the score 10-9 heading into the fifth. The Red Devils increased their lead by one in the bottom of the fifth with after Murrah hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Boyd. At the end of the fifth, it was Elkmont with an 11-9 lead. 

While the Red Devils didn’t add any more runs in the final two innings, the same could not be said for the Trojans, as they added nine more runs, seven of which came in the last inning, securing the victory and bringing their record to 5-3. 

The Trojans finished with 13 hits. Six Trojans finished with two-hits, with Graviett and Johnson finishing with three RBIs each and seven batters knocking in at least one run.

“It was good to be able to win a game and get a number of good hits again, even with two of our top guys out on the senior trip,” Athens Bible head coach Bill Murrell said. “Our guys never felt they were out of it.”