Post 80 wins state tournament

Published 12:00 am Monday, July 21, 2003

Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! The American Legion Post 80 baseball team could be heard throughout the state this past weekend as the players "whomped" the competition in Madison to earn a state championship.

The Post 80 players went undefeated at the state tournament winning the championship game against West Alabama by a final score of 6-5.

Post 80 Head Coach Steve Helms said he was extremely proud of the way his team performed.

"I don't see how we can play any better," Helms said. "Every aspect of the game was played at the highest level that I thought the kids could play.

"We are playing great baseball right now," Helms added. "We peaked at the right time."

Trevor Mathews and Tyler Wilson scored in the first inning to give Post 80 a 2-0 lead. Post 80 was on top 3-1 after two innings when Justin Bracewell rounded the bases after reaching base on an error.

Drew Mims and Neal Patterson both scored in the third inning to stretch Post 80's lead to 5-1. Scotty McCraney added the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the fourth when he was hit by a pitch and came around to score.

West Alabama added two runs in the fifth to trim the lead to 6-3. West Alabama added two more runs in the top of the sixth, but ran out of gas in the seventh inning when Tyler Wilson went to the mound.

Wilson got the save sitting down West Alabama in order via three strikeouts. Will Cammack was the starting pitcher and got the win. Holt Parker and Brad Sanders also pitched in the state championship game.

Post 80 began the state tournament with a 5-1 win against Post 49 from Athens. Justin Bracewell was the winning pitcher.

The game was tied at 1-1 after two innings of play with Cole Sightler scoring for Post 80. He reached on a walk and moved to second when Chaz Maloy drew a walk. He scored later in the inning.

Trevor Mathews gave Post 80 a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Wilson had an RBI in the inning.

Maloy, Cammack and McCraney each scored in the sixth inning for a 5-1 win.

In the second game of the tournament, Post 80 whomped the Post 12 team from Skipperville by a final score of 7-0.

Mims was the winning pitcher.

Mathews, Mims and Wilson each scored in the first inning for an early 3-0 lead. Patterson and Sightler scored in the third inning for a 5-0 advantage.

Mims scored his second run of the game in the fourth inning for a 6-0 lead. Sightler reached on a double in the fifth inning and scored for the final margin of 7-0.

Post 34 from Tuscaloosa was the next team on the Post 80 hit list. Post 34 also got whomped with Post 80 scoring 10 runs for a 10-0 win in six innings. Wilson was the winning pitcher.

Mathews was on fire against Tuscaloosa scoring three runs. He was 4-for-5 in the game.

Mims and Patterson scored two runs each. They were both 2-for-4 in the game. Wilson, Sightler and Michael Dutton each scored one run in the win.

Post 80 travels to Troy next for the Southeast Regional Tournament. A banquet is slated for Thursday night when the tournament format and bracket will be decided. Play is slated to begin on Friday.