The Covington County 10U All-Stars battled mightily, but fell in the district tournament on Sunday in Evergreen to end their season.

“I’m very proud of our boys’ resilience and effort,” Covington County coach Jed Blackwell said. “With the exception of the Evergreen game, we were behind at some point in every game and fought back. These boys have a lot of character and heart. That showed in this tournament.”

EAST BREWTON 6, COVINGTON 5

In the opening game of the tournament, the Covington County All-Stars went down early and clawed their way back, but fell 6-5 to East Brewton.

Conner Blackwell got the game started with a hard hit ball to shortstop, but the East Brewton player was there to make the play for the first out of the game.

Laeton Smith followed with a scorching single to left field, and then he moved up to second on a passed ball.

Moving up on the passed ball turned out to be big as Brock Skipper laced a ball up the middle of the diamond that allowed Smith to score the first run of the game.

Blackwell took the ball on the mound for Covington County and retired the East Brewton side in order on just eight pitches.

The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the third inning when East Brewton pushed across a pair of runs to go on top 2-1.

Covington County looked to have something going in the top of the fourth inning when Andrew Clark walked, and then a double from Smith gave them runners on second and third with two outs.

Skipper followed with a rip to center field that looked like it would fall in, but the East Brewton center fielder made a diving catch to end the threat.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, East Brewton went on top 6-1.

Clark came in to pitch for Covington County and kept them scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Covington County never gave up the fight and scored four more runs off of hits from Trent Batten, Eli Melvin, Skipper and Smith.

However, East Brewton was able to hold off the Covington County All-Stars for a 6-5 win.

COVINGTON 12,

EVERGREEN 2

The Covington County All-Stars made short work of the Evergreen All-Stars as they pulled out a 12-2 victory in four innings.

Brady Hall pitched well on the mound of the Covington County All-Stars as he struck out four batters in two innings of work.

Cameron Adams and Hayden Brannon finished off the final two innings on the hill for Covington County.

Blackwell carried the big stick for the Covington County All-Stars as he went 4-for-4 with four RBIs.

Cameron Adams went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Buddy Griffin also picked up two hits and two RBIs for Covington County.

Hall and Aidan Joyner each had hits in the contest. Jack Wiggins, Luke Prescott and Brannon each drew walks in the game.

COVINGTON 11,

EAST BREWTON 8

In the second game of the tournament against East Brewton, the Covington County All-Stars had to battle from behind again, but this time they pulled off an 11-8 victory to stay alive in the tournament.

Smith got the start on the mound for the Covington County All-Stars, but East Brewton used timely hits to take an early 6-0 lead.

The Covington County All-Stars proved resilient as they bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the third inning.

Hits from Trent Batten, Cameron Adams, Clark, Joyner and Griffin helped get the runs for Covington County.

East Brewton continued to capitalize off of errors as they were able to plate two unearned runs in the top of the fourth inning.

Clark then went to the mound as a relief pitcher and shut down East Brewton for the remainder of the game.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Covington County All-Stars caught a spark as they rally began.

Adams got things started with a single to left field and then wasted no time in swiping second base.

Smith, Skipper, Joyner, Batten and Griffin continued the charge and the Covington County All-Stars cut the East Brewton lead down to 8-7.

Covington County then took the lead when Blackwell blistered a double in the gap in the left center. Blackwell’s double allowed two runs to score and gave Covington County a 9-8 lead.

The Covington County All-Stars tacked on two more runs and held off East Brewton in the final frame to pick up the 11-8 victory.

OPP 7,

COVINGTON 5

In an elimination game, the Opp All-Stars knocked off Covington County 7-5 to advance on in the tournament.

Blackwell and Opp’s Jonathan Bedsole started the game on the mound for their respective team.

Blackwell got three ground outs and allowed just one runner to reach in the top of the first inning.

Bedsole started off equally strong as he retired the Covington County batters in order in the bottom of the first inning.

Both pitchers continued to pitch strong as the score remained 0-0 heading into the third inning.

Opp was the first to break through when they plated a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third inning.

Covington County got some life in the bottom of the third inning when Blackwell singled and then moved around to second walk to Smith.

Both runners then moved up a base on a wild pitch.

Another wild pitch got away from the Opp catcher and Blackwell came around to score to make it 2-1.

A few pitches later, Smith tied the game when he scored off of another ball in the dirt.

Opp went back to work in the top of the fourth inning and used a two-out double from Grady Patterson to go up 4-2.

In the top of the fifth inning, Opp added two more unearned runs to go on top 6-2.

The Covington County All-Stars still wouldn’t give up as Blackwell plated a pair of runs with a single to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning.

In the top of the seventh inning, Opp’s Will Jackson drove in a run to make it 7-4.

“Being a part of this atmosphere and competing in this tournament is a great experience four our Covington County boys,” Blackwell said. “They left it all out on the field this weekend and I couldn’t be any prouder of them. My hats off to Opp and Brewton as they are two fantastic baseball teams. They deserve a lot of credit. We wish the very best of luck at the state level later this month if they choose to go.”