“As you can imagine, we are extremely proud of these boys, their hard work, dedication and determination,” said director Ali Turpen.
According to head coach Roy Pope, after placing second in the SWAC 12 and under regional tournament during the weekend of July 18, the All-Stars advanced to the state competition this past weekend.
“During the regional tournament, Austin Tanner hit five home runs, Tyler Pope hit eight and Ross Srickland hit two at regional and two at state,” Pope revealed of the All-Stars hitting power.
“The boys played really good. They hit the ball real well and our pitcher was too strong for the Elkin team,” coach Pope revealed of the team’s first win at state.
According to reports, the All-Stars shut out Elkin in the first round Friday, July 25, 12-0, advancing them to the second round Saturday morning.
The 8 a.m. game Friday saw both Tyler Pope and Austin Tanner on the mound, both for three innings.
The coach revealed that during their time on the mound, Pope struck out eight of Elkin’s players and allowed no hits, while Tanner struck out three, allowing no hits as well.
As for leading hitters, Pope reported that Kent Thornton, Ross Strickland, Tyler Pope, Tanner and Matt Butler took charge at the plate.
Thornton went 4-4 with one RBI; Strickland went 1-4 with a home run and two RBIs; Pope was 2-3 with three RBIs; Tanner was 2-3 with three RBIs; and Butler went 3-4 with three RBIs.
During Saturday’s matchup, the All-Stars took on Coats, beating them 4-2 after six innings.
The winning pitcher for the All-Stars was Aaron Townson, spending three innings on the mound, striking out six and allowing one earned run.
Pope also hit the mound for three innings, allowing one earned run and striking out eight.
As for the leading hitters at the plate, Thornton went one for three and Branson Hayes went one for three.
“Kent and Branson were the only two batters who got a hit with four runs scored,” Pope hared.
After defeating Coats by two runs, the All-Stars went on to the final competition Sunday, July 26, where they took on Elkin again.
According to Pope, the All-Stars defeated Elkin after six innings 8-2.
Pope and Tanner lead the team on the mound, with Pope pitching one inning and Tanner five innings.
During Pope’s time pitching, he struck out two and Tanner struck out 11.
Leading hitters for the championship game were Thornton who went three for four, Strickland who went two for four; Pope who went two for four with a ground roll double; and Tanner who went two for four.
“The kids were really excited about the tournament,” Pope summed up. “They were playing for the championship. I think it was a great group of kids. They went out and played hard. They may not have had as much talent as some of those teams, but they had the heart.”
Jessica Wagner can be contacted at 910-592-8137 ext.122 or reached by e-mail at siphoto@myclintonnc.com
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