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Letter to the Editor
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CITRONELLE, Ala.--The Spanish Fort American League All Stars won the District 7 AAA (Minors) Dixie Youth championship Saturday in Citronelle.
After the final game which went down to the wire, Matthew Lipham could hear his victorious teammates chanting, "This is for you Matthew! This is for you! Get well soon! We love you Matthew," into the phone held by head coach Jon McLeod.
"We couldn't have done it without you. Because we wouldn't have gotten here if it hadn't been for you," McLeod said to Lipham who is recuperating from an illness that forced him to miss the district tournament after helping lead his team to qualify at sub-district.
"After the sub-district, Matthew's illness was agitated and they had to admit him into the hospital," McLeod said. "We called Austin Linton in to take his spot and Austin's done a great job. And every night this week, after every win we had, we called Matthew to tell him."
The team wore Lipham's No. 9 on their wristbands throughout the district tournament and plan to again at the state tournament in Troy.
"That's something they started the first night and we just want Matthew to get well and know that we are keeping him in our hearts," McLeod said.
The Spanish Fort American team advanced to the state tournament that begins July 24 by defeating Saraland in the championship game 7-6. SF AL went 5-1 overall losing only to Saraland in the earlier championship game 7-0 which forced the deciding third game between the two.
SF American started out the tourney by edging Saraland 8-6, then staying in the winners bracket with wins over Fairhope American, Fairhope National, Spanish Fort American and Citronelle. The Saraland club stayed alive in the elimination bracket by topping Municipal National, Municipal American, Spanish Fort National and Fairhope National to go 4-2. Only the district champions advance to state. SF American will face the winner of the District 6 tournament in the first round.
"We need to do and play like we did in the second game tonight," McLeod said. "Be aggressive on the ball and don't watch third-strike pitches. I told them to just keep playing like that. Keep that going and we'll go far."
In the first game, Saraland held the SF American all stars to just three hits, a lead off double by Jon Edward King and singles from John Tyler Fillingim and Jackson Rogers. But in the second game, Rogers' pitching held Saraland to just one hit as he set down the other nine he faced in the first three innings to hold Saraland scoreless. Pearson Cockrell then finished out the game on the mound for SF American and held a 7-1 lead until the top of the sixth when a fielders choice added one run and a two-out rally put four more runs on the board for Saraland. But a grounder to Cockrell ended the tournament with the tying and go-ahead runs left on.
Spanish Fort got on the board in the second inning when Fillingim doubled and Sam Hoover singled him in. Saraland tied it 1-1 in the 4th, But SF added five runs starting with back-to-back singles by Rogers and Briggs McMullen followed by an RBI double by King to score Rogers. Hoover was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Joseph McLeod then hit a 2-RBI single over the bag at third to send McMullen and King across. Caleb Smith then ripped a shot down the third base side that doubled in Hoover and McLeod for a 6-1 advantage.
Cockrell pitched out of a jam in the top of the fifth and SF came to the plate holding a five-run lead. Linton, in Lipham's old spot, singled and later stole second. Von Siebert singled to put Linton at third and Rogers then hit a Sac-Fly to left to score what would seem to be the most valuable run of the game and the tournament for Spanish Fort and their recovering teammate Lipham. Siebert also singled in the first inning and Bailey Knotts singled in the second for Spanish Fort.
In other action, Fairhope National took early wins over Central Baldwin and Spanish Fort National before falling to the eventual title winner and runner-up. SF National also went 2-0 with wins over Citronelle and Municipal American before dropping one to Fairhope National and one to Saraland. Fairhope American advanced early with a win over Municipal National but fell in the next round to SF AL, then lost to Citronelle. Central Baldwin went 0-2 as did both Municipal teams. Citronelle won the sportsmanship trophy.
