SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – The Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (3-1) took down the Tipton Christian Academy Eagles (3-9) 10-0 in a sixth inning run-rule victory on Tuesday night. 

Shelbyville Central junior Stephen Bobo, who committed to Vanderbilt over the offseason, went 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple and an RBI, recording his 100th career base hit in the process.

“Stephen [Bobo] is a fun kid to coach,” Golden Eagles’ Head Coach Chase Jones said postgame, “I know he gets all the accolades as far as his ability, but I love Stephen for who he is as a person. He’s kind of the total package, and that’s what I tell everybody. He’s not only very skilled, but he’s very coachable, he’s a great teammate, he’s very humble, he’s a joy to coach, and I’m very proud of him getting his 100th hit today.”

Kaleb Maillet, a transfer from Community, picked up the win on the mound, throwing a no-hitter in six innings with 12 strikeouts while walking four batters and hitting another.

“When Kaleb [Maillet] gets on the mound, he’s usually a bit more introverted, but his persona changes,” Jones said, “He’s very comfortable when he steps on the mound. I know he got the no-hitter, but even he would tell you that today wasn’t his best performance. He struggled a bit locating the fastball. His breaking ball was extremely effective today, and when he located his fastball it was effective, but with the fingers and cold weather, that probably had something to do with it. He’s one of those guys we are definitely glad to have for this year.”

After Maillet struck out the Tipton side in the top of the first, Bobo got the party started with a two-strike triple to right-center field to leadoff the home half. He came home to score and take a 1-0 lead after Miles McCullough grounded out for one of McCullough’s three RBIs on the night. 

Shelbyville Central did not score in the second inning, but the Golden Eagles did push across two more runs in the third. First, Cade Davis singled home McCullough, then Bone grounded into a fielder’s choice to get Elijah Westbrooks home safely for a 3-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, the Golden Eagles tacked on two more after Braxton Vari and Bobo both led off with singles. McCullough delivered another RBI-groundout, and then Davis recorded his second RBI with a fielder’s-choice groundout for a 5-0 lead.

As Maillet continued to mow down Tipton hitters, the hosts eventually knocked Jonah Cook from the game for the visiting Eagles in the fifth inning. Cook lasted 4.2 innings, giving up eight earned runs on 10 hits and six walks with a single strikeout on 93 pitches. The three runs Shelbyville Central scored in the fifth came on a Vari sacrifice-fly, a Bobo RBI-single for the junior’s 100th career base hit, and a McCullough infield RBI single to take an 8-0 lead heading into the sixth inning.

Finally, the Golden Eagles walked off Tipton when a Brantley Terry wild pitch allowed Blake Bone to score the 10th and final run needed to trigger the run-rule in the bottom of the sixth. 

“We’ve had some really good performances on the mound so far this season,” Jones said, “Defensively, for the most part we’ve been fairly solid. Offensively, we have to find our rhythm and our identity. I feel like we could be a dangerous team offensively, but right now we are far from it. Right now, we’re kind of losing the barrel on some of our swings, we’re getting out heavy on our front foot, we’re getting loaded late, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that we’re probably doing a little bit of thinking. I really think as the year goes on and our guys start getting more comfortable at the plate, we could be a pretty good offensive team. As of the first week and a half into the season, we’re far from it now, but I’m thinking that it could eventually become a strength.”

McCullough finished 1-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs, Elijah Westbrooks went 1-for-2 with two walks, and Cade Davis batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Blake Bone went 1-for-4 with two walks and one RBI, Caden Peacock batted 1-for-2 with two walks and one RBI, and Brody Thomas finished 2-for-3 with a triple and a double. Ashton Whorley batted 1-for-2 with two walks, and Vari went 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Shelbyville Central improves to 3-1 overall and will host Community on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Stephen Bobo is projected to start on the mound for the Golden Eagles.