Tradition gets new chapter with book
By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle’s 2009 Class 5A state championship is now almost two months old, but the accolades are still rolling in for 27 players and five coaches who added to the Tigers’ baseball legacy when they beat Briarwood Christian in the finals in May.
The championship rings have been ordered and now the team will be the focus of a commemorative book detailing the run to the school’s seventh state baseball championship.
The Hartselle Enquirer will publish the book, featuring pictures and complete coverage from the start of the 2009 season through the Class 5A state championship series with Briarwood Christian in Montgomery’s Riverwalk Stadium.
Pre-orders are now being accepted for this full-color, hardback book.
Included in the book are details from throughout the year, team photos, individual photos, profiles and more.
Books can be ordered by sending $34.95 to Hartselle Enquirer, PO Box 929, Hartselle, AL 35640 or charge by phone by calling 773-6566. Five dollars from each book is donated back to the Hartselle Tiger baseball team.
The championship was the seventh for the Tigers’ baseball program. Hartselle previously won state baseball championships in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2000.
Hartselle’s season started with lofty expectations - five semifinal appearances in eight years without a state championship can do that to a program.
But this was a group that handled the pressure well, winning a state-record 50 games in a season to remember.
There were plenty of new individual records set during the season as well. Senior Luke Bole set a school-record with 20 homers, while he tied the record for RBIs in a season with 73.
Chad Girodo broke the school mark for wins in a season after he finished 17-1 in his final year at Hartselle.
In the final two months of the season, Hartselle lost just three times. In the state playoffs, the Tigers were beaten just once, finishing 10-1 against state powerhouses Southside of Gadsden, Cullman and Briarwood.
In the end, the Tigers were simply unstoppable and the roar was restored.
Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com
