BY DANIEL SCHMIDT | THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — Local youth baseball players showcased their skills at the USSSA Alabama All-State Championships in Oxford on June 20-22, with several teams taking home trophies.
The Phenix City 8U East team captured the USSSA All-State Tournament championship in dominant fashion, going undefeated and outscoring opponents 86-9 across five games in Oxford.
They also won their final four games by at least eight runs and closed the tournament with an 8-0 victory over Alexandria.
According to head coach Cyle Rasmus, his players were ready to practice again as soon as they had returned home from the tournament.
“We got home last night, and I got two phone calls this morning from parents wanting to know if we could practice this week,” Ramus said. “Our kids really have a desire to be good. If you want to be really good, that’s kind of what you have to have.”
The team opened pool play with overwhelming victories over Glencoe, 20-1, and Shelby County, 21-0.
While those performances established them as a true contender, Rasmus said he believed the championship run truly began when bracket play started.
In a first-round matchup against Priceville, Phenix City delivered what he described as its best offensive performance of the season.
“In the first game of bracket play, when we played Priceville, we hit the ball harder than we’ve ever hit it,” Rasmus said. “I was like, ‘Uh-oh, if we can do this, we should be able to play pretty well and have a good chance.’”
The confidence only grew from there.
Phenix City went on to defeat Priceville 12-2 before following up with an 11-3 victory over the Northport Nationals.
Phenix City continued its march through the bracket with a 14-3 win over Centre before closing the tournament with an 8-0 victory over Alexandria.
By the time Monday ended, they had scored in double figures in four of its five games and never allowed more than three runs in any contest.
The championship performance was not a surprise to those around the program.
Many of the players were part of a successful team a year ago, and the coach believes that experience helped drive this year’s group.
“Our kids had success last year, and I think they liked it,” Rasmus said. “They wanted to have that same feeling this year that we had last year. They went out there and did it. We played really well.”
The Phenix City 8U East team was not the only team from Sin City to win a championship.
The Phenix City 10U West team finished 6-0 in Oxford, defeating Hayden, Taylorville, Oxford Black, Cottondale and the Northport Americans before facing Meridanville in the championship. There, they won 13-7 to claim the trophy.
The Phenix City 9U team also won their championship, going 5-0 against Arab, Florence Red, Alexandria and the Northport Americans. In the championship game, they defeated the Northport Nationals 13-12 in a barnburner of a game.
Those three titles highlighted a strong showing by numerous East Alabama programs at the state tournament.
The Auburn 10U team reached their championship game after dominating pool play with wins over Helena, Clay and Morgan County West by a combined score of 40-5. However, their run ended with a hard-fought 10-9 loss to the Oxford Gold team in bracket play, finishing with a 3-1 record and one of the strongest overall performances in the 10U division.
The Phenix City 10U East team also faced heartbreak after a dominant run through their bracket, going 5-1 overall. After defeating Gordo, Chelsea, the Hueytown Heat, Ranburne and Gulf Shores by a combined 77-16 margin, they fell 7-6 to Enterprise in a down-to-the-wire title game.
The Auburn 9U team posted a 2-1 record, opening with 7-6 and 11-3 victories over Alexandria and Gardendale Maroon, respectively, before falling to the Northport Americans in bracket play.
The Phenix City 7U East team also made a deep run, winning pool-play games against Arab, Florence and Northport Patriots by a combined 40-4 margin before suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat against the Northport Americans in the semifinals.
The Phenix City 7U West team earned a win over Chelsea Pate before facing tough competition from Gardendale Maroon and Clanton, finishing the weekend with a 1-2 record.
The Smiths Station 7U team battled its way to a 2-2 finish. After defeating Wal-Win 18-11 and later eliminating Alabaster 14-1 in bracket play, Smiths Station’s tournament concluded with a loss to Huffman.
The Phenix City 8U West team finished 0-3, displaying competitive spirit and good sportsmanship despite the difficult circumstances.
Collectively, the 10 qualified teams from East Alabama posted a combined 33-11 record against some of the best recreation all-star teams in the state.
