-Michael Albee
Mountain Brook Keeps Gray Title in Alabama
The Mountain Brook Spartans and Bishop Snyder Cardinals would go head to head in the gray bracket championship after finishing atop their pools and winning a semi-finals matchup. The Spartans would come out on top in this one 8-3 and claim the gray bracket title; let’s see how they did it.
The Spartans would get things going quickly in the first, jumping out to a 2-0 lead thanks to the work from
Hunter Keller,
James Graphos and
Sam Estes. Keller did a job and put the ball in play as the table setter, advancing to third as an opportunistic base runner on a long passed ball. Graphos would shoot a fastball the other way two pitches later to plate Keller and get on the board.
Bishop Snyder answered back though, as
Jackson Perry would lead things off in his own right with a bullet back to center on a center cut fastball. Just a batter later,
Cody Boshell roped a single to left to drive in Perry and cut the lead in half.
Paul Barnett limited damage as the starter for the Spartans nicely, handing the ball off to John Littleton in relief.
In the top of the fourth, the Spartans executed some small ball beautifully off the back of a
Bennett Love lead off single to right.
Paul Barnett laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Love over to second, bringing up Brooks Allen. He would waste no time, jumping all over a first pitch fastball and sneaking it past the shortstop to plate Love, extending their lead to 3-1.
It wouldn’t take long for Mountain Brook to add on another run, as the heart of their order (
John Robicheaux,
Caleb Barnett,
Sam Estes) would all combine for hits and extend their lead once again to 4-1 in the top of the fourth.
Going into the bottom of the fifth, Bishop Snyder was down late and needed an answer quickly in the latter half of this one… and they did just that. Adjusting their approach late, the offense came to the plate with a more patient approach.
Aidan King and
Jackson Perry would work walks while nationally ranked shortstop
Tristan Silver found a barrel back to centerfield. With two outs and ducks on the pond,
Ilias Mamea came up to the plate in the biggest spot of the tournament for his team. After going down 0-2, he would shoot a fastball the other way to drive in a run and another would come around to score on a misplay at home where the ball would get away. Just like that, it was a 4-3 ballgame.
Kenneth Diddell would come out of the ‘pen for Mountain Brook in the 6th, keeping things quiet in their half and would see the seventh frame as well.
In an offensive explosion for Mountain Brook in the top of the 7th, all the usual suspects in this order (Robicheaux, Barnett, Estes) would come up with barrel after barrel en route to a four spot that put this game at 8-3 late and proved to be the dagger. Diddell would come back out to wrap things up and did just that, crowning the Mountain Brook Spartans as the Gray Bracket Champions in the High School Showdown!
-MA