Jack Garvin might not have the same electric pitching talent his higher profile teammate Jacob McNairy has. But with an area championship on the line, Athens coach Chuck Smith said there’s nobody he’d rather have in that situation than his junior pitcher.

“It seems like Jack has fallen into this type of situation for three years now,” Smith said. “He’s a bulldog, and he’s got a mentality where it doesn’t look like anything is bothering him. He just goes out and continues to do the right thing, and put his pitches where he needs to throw them.”

Garvin once again answered the call Friday evening, as he tossed 6 2/3 innings of two-hit shutout ball in a 1-0 victory over Florence that clinched the Class 6A, Area 16 championship.

Garvin only struck out two batters, but kept the Florence hitters off balance with his changeup and let his defense do the work. Garvin had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings, and left the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh after Florence put runners on second and third with a base hit and error.

Athens closer Julian Revaz got the last out of the game, catching a soft line drive hit right back at him, and setting off a wet and wild celebration in the infield.

It was the second consecutive game Athens shut out Florence. The Golden Eagles won Thursday’s first game of the series 2-0 behind a complete game two-hit shutout from Alabama signee McNairy.

“That’s what we pride ourselves on, pitching and defense,” Smith said. “If we do what we’re supposed to do there, and we scratch out a few runs, we should win ballgames.”

Garvin said he wasn’t exactly expecting to match McNairy’s performance, but was just trying to do what he could to keep the Florence bats at bay.

“I wanted to match him the best I could,” Garvin said. “I know he’s a senior, and he’s better than me, but I just wanted to do the best I could today. My changeup was really working well. I had them off balance a lot.”

Athens got its only run of the game in the top of the third inning. The Golden Eagles loaded the bases via two walks and a single by Ethan Tease, before McNairy hit a ground ball that scored Tease.

That was the only run Garvin would need, although he worked out of potential major trouble in the fourth inning, as two hit batsmen and a walk loaded the bases. However, he induced a fly out to end the inning and strand the three base runners.

“I’ve been used to working out of trouble all year,” Garvin said. “My control has been a little off this year, so I’ve been used to pitching with the bases loaded. It didn’t faze me.”

Garvin pitched around a hit and another hit batsmen in the sixth, and recorded the first two outs of the seventh before a single and an error put the Falcons in business again with two outs.

Smith said he had no hesitation going to his closer in that critical moment.

“Jules has been great all season, and was great last year too,” Smith said. “I have no second guesses when I hand him the ball.”

Kade McHalffey had a double for Athens, while Tease and Major Reeves had the only other hits.

Athens’ area championship means the Golden Eagles will host a first-round playoff series. The Eagles (24-9) will take on Pell City (11-16) in the series beginning Friday. The teams will play games at 5 and 7 p.m. Friday, with an if-necessary third game to take place at noon Saturday.

Smith said he was proud of his team being able to win a tough area that included runner-up Hazel Green, Florence and Muscle Shoals.

“It’s all about being consistent throughout the area, because everybody is very tough,” Smith said. “Once we get into area play, everybody is pretty doggone good, and it’s toe to toe the whole game.”

Athens 1, Florence 0

The third game of the series was meaningless when it came to the area standings, but Athens still recorded another 1-0 victory Friday night.

The Golden Eagles scored the only run of the game in the top of the seventh inning on a Nick Holden RBI single. Tyde Robinson and Andrew Waldrep also had hits for Athens.

Slaton Black was the winning pitcher. He was dominant in relief, pitching the final four innings of the game and striking out 11 batters while allowing no hits.