NEW ALBANY — Opposing pitchers need to take notice when they face Jeffersonville this season. If they rely too much on fastballs to try to get the Red Devils out, expect to take some lumps.

Class 4A No. 5 Jeff blasted three home runs to defeat Class 4A No. 7 New Albany 8-2 on Wednesday night at Mt. Tabor Field.

“Every win is a big win, but I think it’s more of a big win for the people in the stands,” Red Devil head coach Derek Ellis said. “When it’s Jeff versus New Albany, there’s a little something extra on the line.”

Unlike his nine-inning, 12-strikeout outing versus Floyd Central on April 13, New Albany starter Chase Rudy did not solid command of his breaking pitch and had to resort to throwing plenty of fastballs. As a result, the Red Devils collected seven of their eight runs and nine of their 11 hits off the right-hander. Rudy struck out six and walked two in six-plus innings.

“Chase really struggled with his command tonight. He had no breaking ball,” Bulldog head coach Chris McIntyre said. “Luckily, he was able to keep us in the game as long as he did. When you don’t have a breaking ball and they know a fastball is coming, you’re asking for trouble. Against Jeffersonville, you better have some off-speed [pitches] or they’re going to sit on the fastball and they’re going to hit your fastball.”

The Jeff player who gave Rudy the most fits Wednesday was leadoff hitter Drew Campbell. The senior center fielder went 3-for-5 with a double, two solo homers, three runs scored and two RBIs. Campbell got all three of his hits off Rudy.

“He drives the bus, so to speak. When he goes, we kind of go with him,” Ellis said. “When he’s swinging the bat well and getting on base and making things happen, we’re a pretty good ballclub. It was great to see him come out the way he did.”

The Red Devils (8-1) got on the board first in the top of the second inning. With two out, shortstop Bailey Falkenstein scored from third base on a Rudy wild pitch.

The Bulldogs (9-4) answered in the bottom half with a run to tie the game at one. After senior designated hitter Austin Dickey smacked a two-out single, he scored on a double by first baseman Ryan Robison that went off the right-field fence.

Campbell got the lead back for Jeff when he led off the top of the third with a solo shot over the right-field fence, putting the Devils up 2-1.

Campbell’s second solo blast happened in the top of the fifth. Once again, he drilled it over the right-field wall, this time with one out to give Jeff a 3-1 lead.

“I haven’t been hitting good the last two games. So I just tried to come out here and hit the ball hard. It worked out for me,” Campbell said.

New Albany got within 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth on a solo shot of its own. Senior center fielder AJ Nixon smacked the homer over the center-field fence off Red Devil starter Ian Ellis. Nixon was the only Bulldog to have a multihit game, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.

“I was pleased as punch to only be down one run going into the last inning,” McIntyre said.

However, in the top of the seventh, Jeff turned the game from a nailbiter into a blowout with five runs on four hits.

Campbell led off the inning with a double to right-center and moved to third on a fielder’s choice by Ian Ellis, who reached first safely.

That brought up senior slugger Joe Burke and he made the Bulldogs pay. The first baseman smashed a three-run homer to left-center to extend the Red Devil advantage to 6-2.

Jeff’s final two runs came on a RBI groundout by catcher Bradley Benton and an RBI double by designated hitter Jack Ellis, who ended up 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Ian Ellis pitched all seven innings to improve his record to 4-0. The senior right-hander surrendered two runs (both earned) on six hits, striking out nine and walking two.

Ian Ellis gave a solid outing on three days’ rest after he pitched a four-hitter last Saturday in the Red Devils’ 5-1 home win over Terre Haute North.

“We probably left him in a little too long. He was around the 90-pitch mark going into the last inning, and you could tell he was getting a little bit tired,” Derek Ellis said. “But he didn’t want to come out. He was a bulldog and he wanted to stay out there, so we were going to go ahead and ride him for a little bit. I’m extremely excited with the way he’s pitching so far early in the season, so hopefully he will continue that as we move on.”

Both teams will play at home Saturday. Jeff will face Bedford North Lawrence, while New Albany will square off against Evansville Reitz in a doubleheader.

JEFFERSONVILLE 8, NEW ALBANY 2

Jeffersonville 011 010 5—8 11 0

New Albany 010 001 0—2 6 0

W — Ian Ellis (4-0). L — Chase Rudy (1-1). 2B — Drew Campbell (J), Jack Ellis (J), Ryan Robison (NA). HR — Campbell 2 (J), Joe Burke (J), AJ Nixon (NA). Records — Jeffersonville 8-1, New Albany 9-4

All of the game photos are free to anyone who wants them and can be downloaded from Facebook or Teampages. They are also available from jeffathletics.com galleries, but not the same quality when Screenprinted.

If you want a particular action or game photo in a certain size and want me to print and mail to you, that’s also possible. Just drop me an email, bigblockgt@twc.com, and I’ll add to the studio website http://cab.shootproof.com.

If you’re not familiar with download, here’s a few tips,
On teampages,
First go to the Photo Albums on the right, or from the Menu, select MEDIA, then Photos
Open the photo you want,
Make it Full Size from the link on the bottom,
Hoover over it with your mouse,
Then use the right button on our mouse – a small menu will open, choose Save as.
Choose a folder on your PC you want to save in.

On Facebook,
Click on the photo you want
Hoover over it with your mouse,
Then use the right button on our mouse – a small menu will open, choose Save as.
Choose a folder on your PC you want to save in.

Schedule Changes.

The Red Team will NOT play Friday April 15

The Varsity Game on Friday Apr 15 start time has changed to 6 PM.

Go Big Red!

By PHILLIP STEINMETZ sports@newsandtribune.com
JEFFERSONVILLE — The 8th-ranked Jeffersonville Red Devils welcomed Fort Wayne Carroll to Don Poole Field Friday night for the their season opener Friday and found a way to come away with a hard-fought victory.

Jeffersonville started its ace sophomore pitcher, Gabe Bierman., who had eight strikeouts, allowed three hits and only walked one while picking up the win. His pitching kept the Chargers on their toes but he had quite a bit of help from the defense behind him.

“I was hitting my spots very well. Mainly my curveball and fastball were a factor, both with good velocity,” he said. “Glad I have a great defense behind my back to make plays..”

For most of the game Jeff was unable to bring people home who got on base. The Carroll defense was strong the entire evening and went without an error.

The Chargers got on the board first in the third inning. It started with a double then an error by third baseman Cam Northern allowed the runner to score.

The Carroll lead almost widened during the top of the fifth inning. It started with Bierman allowing a double and hitting a Charger. Jeff elected to intentionally walk the next batter, and with only one out, Carroll looked prime to add to its lead. Bierman was able to get Jeff out of the jam.

In the bottom of the fifth is where the Jeff bats came alive. Senior Jordan Thomas got a rally started with a single down the right-field line. Senior Drew Campbell then launched a bomb over the right field fence to put the Red Devils on top.

“The game went real well,” senior Ian Ellis said. “Of course there’s going to be the Opening Day jitters to begin with, but when we got down, nobody panicked. Gabe went out and threw a gem. Drew came up with a big hit, which happened to be the deciding factor.”

Jeremiah Phelps put the game away for the Devils in the seventh inning, striking out two batters to get his first save of the season.

“Getting the win against Carroll was a good way to start the season,” Campbell said. “We have some work to do, but I know we’ll get everything going. As long as we help our pitchers out by putting up runs, we’ll have a good year.”

The Devils travel to Austin today before a big showdown with rival Floyd Central on Wednesday.

JEFFERSONVILLE 2 CARROLL 1

Carroll 001 000 0—1 3 0

Jeffersonville 000 020 0—2 5 2

W — Gabe Bierman (1-0). L — Jake Ostrowski (0-1). S — Jordan Thomas. 2B — Jeremiah Phelps (J), Drew Campbell (J), Bailey Falkenstein (J), Riley Perlich ©, Grant Henschel ©. HR — Campbell (Jeff). Records — Carroll 0-1, Jeffersonville 1-0.

Team Photos can be found on http://cab.shootproof.com . You can order from there or download the attached form.

Also available, Attitude Photo 11×17, 4" Spirit Button and a variety of photo sizes and packages .