After a 13-inning pitcher’s duel on Friday that resulted in a Dobyns-Bennet 1-0 win, the Patriots’ offense couldn’t recover while the Indians’ took off to take a 12-2 win and secure a spot in the 4A Sectional.

After Friday’s loss to the Indians, the Patriots squeaked past William Blount, 6-5, on Saturday afternoon thanks to Isaiah Kirk’s walk-off single, setting up a rematch with D-B to fight for their season.

The Indians scored a run in every inning, blasting a pair of home runs. The Patriots drew nine walks but had just one hit.

Jefferson County closes its season at 26-13, its most wins since 2017, where they won 28 games and went to the state tournament

Game 1: D-B 1, JCHS 0

In Friday’s region tournament opener, the Patriots and Indians put up zeroes for 12 innings before a run was finally scored in the 13th.

Jefferson County opted to start ace Brody Carr in the opener, and he pitched the first 7.1 innings before his night ended due to pitch count. Carr allowed just one hit with two walks while striking out 15 of the 25 batters he faced. After Kirk pitched the rest of the eighth inning in relief, Jackson Ormonde finished out the game, tossing five innings and striking out six.

The Patriot bats, however, couldn’t breakthrough the Indians pitching staff either. Walker Bishop started and pitched 8.1 shutout innings with six strikeouts, with four other relievers appearing on the mound as the staff fanned a combined 17 batters.

Both sides had chances throughout the evening despite having just two hits apiece entering the 13th inning. Jackson Ormonde hit a fly ball to left that seemed destined to score a runner on second, but the Indians’ left fielder snatched it with an impressive diving grab.

The Indians had multiple runners on in the top of the seventh and eighth but couldn’t take advantage. The Patriots loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th with an error, bunt and walk, but a strikeout halted the chance to walk it off.

The Indians had two one-out singles in the top of the 13th and Maddox Martin drove in the deciding run shortly after, though Ormonde shut down loaded bases to give the struggling JCHS offense a chance. Deacon Taylor bunted a single in the bottom of the fram and later advanced to second, but the Patriots couldn’t send him home.

Game 2: JCHS 6, WIlliam Blount 5

The Patriots needed a late rally to keep their season alive in the loser’s bracket game. Caleb Franklin hit a two-run bomb in the bottom of the first, and Jefferson County didn’t find home again until the fifth after trailing 5-2.

Sean Young reached on an error and scored two to cut the deficit to 5-4, and Drew Larrance was able to put up a pair of zeroes to keep it that way entering the bottom of the seventh. Franklin doubled to start the inning, followed by another double from Nate Nichols to tie it at 5-5. Young was intentionally walked, Ormonde flew out and Kirk finished it with his walk-off single.

Carr, Franklin and Kirk each had three hits in the win, while Fanklin threw five innings and struck out 10.

Game 3: D-B 12, JCHS 2

It was a disappointing end to the season for the Patriots, who quickly trailed 9-0 entering the bottom of the fourth. Jeff County scored two in the frame after a flurry of walks led to a sac fly that scored one, and a HBP scored the other.

The Patriots couldn’t rally after that, and D-B extended its lead to 10 after putting in a run in each of the three remaining innings.