By: Railey Ayers

When Cade Calhoun walked into The Andrews Institute in Birmingham in late March of 2016 to have Tommy John surgery, he could only hope things would go well enough for him to throw a baseball again. When the senior pitcher stepped on the mound Tuesday to face the East Memorial Wildcats, he could only hope that the therapy and work he did in the offseason would get him through.

When he threw his first pitch,he did not expect to throw a few more and walk away with a perfect game- but hard work pays off.

By allowing no Wildcats to touch the base path, stealing three bases and adding an RBI, Calhoun propelled the Cougars past EMCA for an easy 15-0 victory.

With 11 hits and eight walks, head coach Mike Sims’ Cougars improved to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in 1A play to begin their run for another state championship. Notable performances included those of junior Clayton Hester, who batted 2-3, and junior Clay Hammonds, who tacked on two hits and three stolen bases.

“It was a great team win. We’re swinging our bats really well right now and things are swinging our way,” smiled Calhoun. “It’s a great thing to be 2-0, especially in region play- but there’s always room to improve as we approach the harder part of our schedule.”