By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
It was not a case of a lack of hits that beat the Brewton Babe Ruth 15-year-old all-stars. It was a lack of timely hits.
Brewton's tournament run got off on the wrong foot when it dropped a 4-2 decision to Monroeville Tuesday.
Brewton outhit Monroeville 10-7, but stranded nine runners on base, hit into a double play and lost another runner on the bases.
Half of Brewton's 10 hits came from two spots. Aaron Nelson had three singles, while Sam Sharpe had a pair of singles and an RBI.
The climax of Brewton's frustrating day at the plate came in the bottom of the sixth. Down 3-1 at the start of the inning, Brewton trimmed that lead down to a mere run after Corey Williams walked and Nelson and Sharpe hit back-to-back singles.
Monroeville reliever Eli Hare was greeted by a single by Tyler Brown that loaded the bases with nobody out, but Hare preserved the lead when he got Tyler Nall to fly out into shallow rightfield and Jacob Cannon and James Hamric to strike out.
Hamric gave Brewton five and one-third innings of solid work on the mound, as he scattered seven hits and struck out seven. Monroeville strung three of those hits together in the first inning, two of which were RBI singles by Cody Lee Philen and Hare that gave Monroeville a 2-0 lead it would not relinquish.
Monroeville hurler Forest Smith kept Brewton hitters off balance most of his stint. One of the few exceptions came in the bottom of the fourth when a double by Corey Williams, a single by Nelson and an RBI groundout by Sharpe cut Monroeville's lead to 2-1.
Monroeville added a run to that lead in the top of the sixth. Philen singled and Hare was hit by a pitch, while Denzil Dees came through with an RBI single.
Monroeville picked up another insurance run in the top of the seventh when Phillip McKinley walked and Philen was hit by a pitch. Brewton catcher Jacob Cannon tried to pick Philen off first base, but the throw sailed into rightfield and allowed McKinley to score.
Brewton's elimination bracket game that was scheduled for Friday was pushed back to Saturday due to rain at the tournament site in Thursday's session.
At Monroeville
Monroeville 200 001 1 - 4 7 0
Brewton 000 101 0 - 2 10 1