By Staff
If somebody asked Brewton Babe Ruth 13-year-old all-stars coach Bob DeFrancisco as to one of the key reasons' for his team's downfall at the Area Tournament held in Atmore over the weekend, the answer might surprise you.
"The (elimination) game against Atmore Sunday (which Brewton won 17-6) really took a lot out of us. It wasn't a close game. That didn't have anything to do with it. It was the fact we had to play that game in scorching heat. As soon as that game was done, we had to play again against Covington County and it was their first game of the day. We competed well, but we didn't have a lot left in the tank," DeFrancisco said.
Covington County beat Brewton in that championship game bracket 13-6. Brewton would have had to beat Covington County twice to win the tournament and earn a state berth.
Brewton erased a 6-2 deficit in that game and battled back to tie the game at 6-6 in the sixth inning only to see Covington County break loose for seven runs in the top of the seventh inning to notch the win.
Grant DeFrancisco had a pair of hits to spark Brewton's attack in that game.
It was also Covington County which beat Brewton in the opening round 10-7 Saturday.
Covington County snapped a 3-3 tie with a five-run second inning that put it ahead for good.
Jamar Travis and John Mathieu both had two hits and scored two runs to pace Brewton.
Brewton stayed alive in the tournament Saturday when it ousted Andalusia 10-5.
Brewton overcame an early 1-0 deficit with a three-run rally in the bottom of the first inning. It broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning.
Mathieu had a single, a triple, a stolen base and scored two runs to lead Bretwon. Sam Sharpe worked the first four and one-third innings to get the win.
In the win over Atmore, Brewton had five-run innings in the first, third and sixth innings en route to victory.
Mikey Roye and Mathieu both had a single and a double and Corey Williams had two singles for Brewton. Justin Payne worked the middle three innings for the win.