By BY BRUCE HIXON – sports editor
Two T.R. Miller Tigers were among the 15 players that advanced from the opening round of the Lions Club East-West All-Star series held at Jefferson Davis Community College Saturday.
Senior pitcher/first baseman Mackie Jackson and senior third baseman Becker Denton were among those chosen for this Saturday's second-round games, which will also be played at JDCC.
Jackson, Denton along with T.R. Miller teammates Baxley Raines and Allen Williams and W.S. Neal's Josh Sawyer all competed for the West squad. The East team won both games with a 14-3 triumph in game one and a 10-3 victory in game two.
Jackson gave up five runs, two of which were unearned in two innings of work in the first game. Jackson, who also saw some outfield duty, was one-for-four at the plate on the day. Jackson struck out and grounded out in game one. He flew out and singled in game two.
Denton was also one-for-four at the plate. Denton grounded out and flew out in the opener. He flew out and doubled in game two.
Raines was one-for-four with a walk during the two games. Raines struck out, singled and grounded out in game one. He walked and reached on an error in game two.
Williams was one-for-three with a walk and two stolen bases during the two games. Williams walked, stole second and grounded out in game one. He singled, stole second and flew out in game two.
Sawyer was one-for-two with a walk during the two games. He singled and drew a base on balls in game one and struck out in his only plate appearance in game two. Sawyer allowed eight runs, seven of which were earned, in two innings of work in game one.
W.S. Neal first baseman Jared Cooper was selected to play, but unable to compete in the games due to commitments with the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star football game.
Jackson and Denton will be joined in the second round of competition by East teammates Corey Gregson of Flomaton, James Patterson of Foley, Daniel Peterson of Daphne and Mike Raia of Fairhope.
Players from the West squad that were selected for the second round of competition included Robertsdale's Logan Ramage, Gulf Shores' Chase Dichiara, Andalusia's Jeffrey Etheridge, Nick Cooper and Justin Ainsworth, Foley's Jonathan Giles, Daphne's Greg Pron and Cody Barber, and Spanish Fort's Ryan Day.
Baldwin County's Cole White and Fairhope's Reed Barnett were chosen as alternates.
Teams from the Mobile, Enterprise and Jackson areas will join the Brewton area team in Saturday's second-round competition. Brewton will face Jackson at 10 a.m., while Enterprise faces Mobile at 12 noon. The top players from the two games will return for the 2 p.m. game. The top 16 players from second-round competition will advance to state competition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham June 2-3.