By Staff
Everybody who thought the Brewton Advanced Babe Ruth All-Stars would be state champions before the regular season began, please raise your hand.
I didn't think so either.
It was a mad scramble by Brewton Babe Ruth president Mike Perry and program coordinator Joey Shell in the late days of spring just to round up enough players to put a regular season league together.
Perry and Shell were also instrumental figures a few weeks later when their combined efforts helped land Brewton the Advanced Babe Ruth state tournament for the age 16 and age 16-18 divisions. It marked the first time Brewton had hosted a state tournament since 1991 when it entertained the 15-year-old divisions.
Perry will turn over his managerial duties to Salter for this week's Southeast Regional in Tarboro, N.C., due to a prior schedule commitment.
Salter, who handled most of the play-calling and decision-making moves on the field at the state tournament, admitted his players far exceeded his expectations.
Salter felt a turning point in the tournament came in the bottom of the second inning of the first game of the tournament against Covington County.
Covington County had a 3-0 lead when Brewton responded with four doubles, five hits overall and four runs to take a 4-3 lead it never relinquished. Brewton added four more runs in the next inning and went on to post a 9-7 win.
Brewton beat each of the participating teams, (Covington County, Atmore and Gulf Coast of Mobile) during the tournament.
Brewton's lineup produced 35 runs in its three wins, an average of just under 12 runs a game.
Second baseman Allen Williams was arguably the biggest catalyst to the attack with six hits in 12 at-bats. That included a perfect 4-for-4
with three RBIs in the semifinal win over Atmore.
First baseman Jake Smith was without a doubt the biggest target in the Brewton lineup. Smith was hit by a pitch five times during the tournament, which included three consecutive times in Sunday's championship game against Gulf Coast.
Brewton is entering uncharted territory this week when it begins play at the Southeast Regional. Anything extra is now a bonus, but better not sell these boys short.
We already made that mistake once.