AHSAA All-Star Baseball | South Wins Opener 7-6, second game ends in 3-3 tie

Montgomery, AL – The South All-Stars scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Monday at Riverwalk Stadium to beat the North squad 7-6 in the first game of the AHSAA North-South Baseball All-Star doubleheader. Team South sealed a 3-3 tie in the second game wiggling out of a bases-loaded jam in the final inning.

The South, coached by Kyle Hunter of Baldwin County and Zach Blatt of Opelika, had late inning drama in both games to finish 1-0-1 in the 2021 All-Star doubleheader.

In game two, South MVP Isaac Warrick of Alabama Christian opened the first inning with a lead-off triple and later scored to give his team a 1-0 lead.  He pitched three strong innings in relief, striking out five.  The South also got strong pitching from starter Thrasher Steed of Gulf Shores and Faith Academy’s Colton Wood, who closed out the game striking out two with the bases loaded. The teams did not play extra innings.

Charlie Keller and catcher Grant Jay, both from Mobile Christian, added a pair of triples for the South. Auburn‘s Patrick McGlon also had two hits and Colton Wood of Faith Academy had a double.

North MVP Davis Gillespie of Oak Mountain, who pitched well in game one and also had a bases-loaded triple to highlight a five-run North rally, lead off the bottom of the seventh in game two and advanced to third but was left stranded thanks to Wood’s clutch pitching.

Gordo’s Ben Capps also had five strikeouts in three innings of work to highlight the North pitching effort.

The North, coached by Steve Renfroe of Briarwood Christian and Jay Mitchell of Mars Hill Bible, managed five hits in game two. North pitchers allowed only seven hits.

North MVP Davis Gillespie of Oak Mountain and South MVP Isaac
Warrick of Alabama Christian congratulated by Britteny Coleman of
Jeff Davis, AHSADCA 1st vice president (MARVIN GENTRY)

The North pitching squad also kept the South hitters under wraps for the majority of game one, but control problems in the seventh inning erased a 6-3 North advantage as the South scored four to earn the win. The South scored the winning run when T.R. Miller infielder Miller Hart raced home from third on a wild pitch with Trinity Presbyterian’s Ben Easterling at the plate.

The South also finished with seven hits in game one with Brantley shortstop Tucker Kilcrease collecting two hits and scoring two runs, G.W. Long infielder Trevor Morris drove in two runs on one hit. Hart also had a single and two hits. Wood Jay  slugged a double. The four South pitchers, starter Tucker Jackson of Houston Academy, Easterling and Pope combined to scatter six hits and strike out 10 to win the opener.

In addition to Gillespie’s tree run performance, Oxford’s Miguel Mitchell had a single and an RBI, Austin Morris of Mortimer Jordan had a single and an RBI and Parker first baseman Shermaine Hollis had one hit and scored a pair of runs.

The North now leads the series, which was first played in 1997, 23-15-2.

All-Star Week continues Tuesday with the North-South Tennis competition for boys and girls at Lagoon Park at 5 p.m., and the North-South Girls’ and Boys’ Basketball All-Star games at the Cramton Bowl MultiPlex at 5 and 6:45 p.m., respectively.

The NFHS Network and AHSAA TV Network will live-stream the basketball games and will feature highlights from the tennis competition. Central-Phenix City High School’s NFHS Network School Broadcast Program, will handle the basketball contests.

ALL-STAR NOTES: Williamson High School’s Robert Woodyard, who was selected to play for the South in the North-South Boys’ basketball game, will not be playing.  Alyvia Collins of Faith Academy also will not be participating for the South in the girls; soccer match Wednesday.  South coach Ashley Johnson of St. Paul’s Episcopal will not be coaching in the girls’ soccer match due to illness. Sarah Thorne will be replacing her.

North-South Series All-Time Results

Baseball (Riverwalk Stadium)
South 7-3, North 6-3, game 2 ended in a tie (North leads series 23-15-2)

Golf (Arrowhead Country Club)
Boys: 
North 20, South 10 (North leads series 2-0)
Girls: South 19.5, North 16.5 (Teams are even 1-1)

Tennis (at Lagoon Park)
Girls: 
Tuesday, 5 p.m. (North leads series 1-0)
Boys: Tuesday, 5 p.m.. (North leads series 1-0)

Basketball (Cramton Bowl MultiPlex)
Girls: 
Tuesday, 5 p.m. (North leads series 20-3)
Boys: Tuesday, 6:45 p.m. (North leads series 48-29)

Cross Country (Gateway Park)
(at AUM, Wednesday, July 17)
Girls: 
Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. (North leads series 2-1)
Boys: Wednesday, 6 p.m. (North leads series 2-1)

Soccer (at Emory Folmar Soccer Complex, AUM)
Girls: 
Wednesday, 5 p.m. (North leads series 15-3-1)
Boys: Wednesday, 7 p.m. (North leads series 12-4-1)

Softball (at Lagoon Park)
Doubleheader, First game 4 p.m. (North leads series 25-23-3)

Volleyball (at Cramton Bowl MultiPlex)
Best 2-of-3 Match, Thursday, 4 p.m. (North leads series 14-8)

Photo: North All-Star Austin Estes slides in safe at home in Game 2 of the North-South Baseball All-Star
doubleheader at Riverwalk Stadium. (AHSAA Photo – MARVIN GENTRY)