Opp falls in Dixie Majors state championship
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 20, 2016
The Opp 19U Dixie Majors lost twice on Monday to Taylor Rehoboth in the Alabama Dixie Majors State Championship game in Selma.
“Overall, I thought we played pretty good,” Opp head coach Zach Spann said. “The way the bracket was set up sort of messed us up, but I don’t want to blame it on that.”
Opp started the tournament with a win over Taylor Rehobeth.
The Bobcats then blew past Sub West in pair of games on Sunday.
“Those games Sunday wore us out,” Spann said. “We were on the field for about eight hours, and with the rain delay we didn’t finish up until 1 a.m. After that, we have get up and play two games the next morning for the state championship.”
On Monday, Taylor Rehobeth topped Opp 5-2 in the opening game and 4-2 in the final game.
“Two home runs was really the difference,” Spann said. “Take back those two pitches and we are right there in the game. We pitched well and played defense well enough to win, but we just weren’t able to hit the ball enough to win.”
Spann said that Walker Messer had a big tournament for the Bobcats.
“Walker Messer did everything that I asked him to do,” Spann said. “He caught every game except for the second championship game when he pitched.”
Spann said that Messer gave the Bobcats a chance to win in the game, but one pitch was the difference.
“Walker pitched outstanding for us in the championship game,” Spann said. “If it hadn’t been for the that three-run home run, we were in it. That was the whole difference in the game.”
Spann also said that Cale Pierce, Reagan Thomas and Dillon Dee each had strong tournaments.
“We had a lot of guys that stepped up and played well,” Spann said. “We hoped the games on Monday would have gone better, but I’m still very proud of the way these guys have battled this season.”