Cade Everson swinging away for Tallassee's 15U team Photo by Kyle Thornton

Babe Ruth teams solid at state

By Michael Butler

Tallassee's two Babe Ruth all-star teams put their best feet forward at the state level last weekend. Now, on to regionals. The 13-year-old all-stars reached the finals in Demopolis but came up a run short. The 15-and-under team was knocked out in the semifinals in Tallassee in another one-run game.

In Demopolis, Tallassee defeated Bay Minette 10-3 in the opener on Friday and fell to West Alabama 15-0 later that afternoon. With a 1-1 pool play record the 13-year-olds were the No. 3 seed.

On Saturday, Tallassee beat No. 2 seed Sylacauga 18-2 to advance to the championship.

In the state final on Sunday, Tallassee trailed 5-0 after the first inning and 5-1 after two but put up seven runs in the fifth to take an 8-5 lead. West Alabama rallied in the bottom of the sixth plating four to regain the lead at 9-8 and kept Tallassee off the board in the seventh to clinch the championship.

With the Babe Ruth Southwest Regional being played in Demopolis from July 15-18, West Alabama will serve as the host team. Tallassee will be the Alabama representative.

"I was really proud of the kids. They fought hard and never gave up," head coach Tommy Wisener said. "I'm excited about going to the regional tournament. It will be a great experience for the kids. I really do think we have a shot if we continue to get better."

Tallassee's 13-year-old all-stars

The 15-year-old Tallassee squad went 2-0 in pool play with wins over Sylacauga 10-0 on Friday and Monroeville 6-1 on Saturday earning the top seed. In the semifinal on Sunday, Sylacauga avenged their earlier loss to Tallassee with a 3-2 win and went on to win the state championship in beating Monroeville 14-4.

"I've never had a group of kids that seemed so eager to learn and get better," head coach Stephen Webster said. "They were taught a valuable life lesson this weekend by having something taken away from them and not having any control over it. I want to give them the opportunity to come back from that to show what they're really made of by taking them to regionals."

The Babe Ruth 15U Southwest Regional will be played in Childersburg.

Blake Smith with a collision at the plate in the Tallassee 15U all-stars 10-0 win over Sylacauga on Friday Photo by Kyle Thornton

Last week's 15U state tournament in Tallassee was the first held here since 2015.

"The tournament went well," Tallassee Babe Ruth League President Shane Yankey said. "I want to thank all who participated. Thanks to Tallassee High School and the Babe Ruth board. A special thanks to our vice president Robbie Ellis who went overboard. And thanks to the good Lord, who cooperated with the weather."