End of the road

By Staff
Hartselle American ties for 5th with 2-2 record at state tournament
Staff Reports, Hartselle Enquirer
The Hartselle American 9/10-Year-Old Dixie Youth All-Stars' run to the World Series ended Aug. 1 with a 9-4 loss to Clanton at the AAA state tournament in Montgomery. The defeat sent the Americans home in a tie for fifth place and with a final record of 2-2 at the tournament. Earlier in the event, Hartselle defeated Fairhope National 10-0 and Dothan American Red 11-0 and lost to Taylorville American 10-0. Taylorville American was the eventual state champion.
Although Hartselle fell short of its ultimate goal of the World Series, the team did earn another special recognition. Hartselle American was the winner of the Sportsmanship Award by a unanimous vote of the league officials.
"I was very ecstatic," said Hartselle American manager Jeff Howard upon learning his team won the award. "I'm proud of the kids and our fans, because they were all a part of this. We talked before the tournament about handling ourselves in a positive manner, and I think that really impressed the tournament officials."
Clanton 9
Hartselle American 4
Hartselle American took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when a two-out single by Riley Wiggins scored Connor Shelton and Phillip Summerford. That lead did not last long, however, as Clanton scored three runs in the bottom of the first off three hits and a Hartselle error.
Both teams scored a run in the second inning, with Hartselle's coming on a Jacob Bynon double that scored Summerford. The game remained 4-3 in favor of Clanton until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Clanton scored five runs with two outs to put the game away.
The Americans added their last run in the top of the sixth inning on a fielder's choice by JW Clark that scored Tyler Cook, who led off the inning with a single.
Jorden Robinson, Summerford and Clark each pitched for Hartselle in the game.
Hartselle American got singles from Connor Shelton, Taylor Steele, Cook, Tom Chapman and Wiggins. Bynon had the team's lone extra-base hit- a double that also scored a run.