By By Tim Cottrell
(Editor's note: This is the fifth in a ten-week series of candid interviews with head coaches of Atmore Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth baseball teams. The interviews will appear each Sunday)
Atmore's Babe Ruth All-Stars fared a bit better than their younger counterparts over the weekend. At press time the 14-15-year-old All-Stars were playing for the district championship in Brewton while the 13-year-old All-Stars were eliminated Saturday.
Brewton 6
Atmore 5
A hard-fought comeback came up just short for Atmore Friday night in Brewton, when after rallying from two separate three-run deficits Atmore allowed Brewton to score the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
Brewton took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, and then took a 5-2 lead after three. Atmore slowly came back to tie the game at five in the fifth inning.
Lawrence Thomas pitched all seven innings for Atmore and struck out seven.
Dustin Hall led Atmore on the night, batting 2-for-4 and scoring two runs. Hunter Milliken, Ben Hess, and Ethan Brooks scored the other runs. Hess added a double.
Atmore 15
South Monroe 1
Atmore's All-Stars quickly dispatched an overmatched South Monroe team Saturday evening in Brewton by a score of 15-1.
After taking a 9-1 lead after two innings, Atmore was held scoreless until the sixth inning, where they exploded for six more runs to put the game away.
Justin Rolin led Atmore with three runs scored on the day. Dustin Hall, Elliott Faircloth, Hunter Milliken, and Tyler Brown all scored twice. Milliken added a double. Ben Hess, Skyler Peacock, Nico Johnson, and A.J. Beachy scored the remaining Atmore runs.
Atmore 14
Evergreen 1
The Atmore bats remained hot Sunday night when they took on the Babe Ruth All-Stars from Evergreen.
In a game in which they never trailed, Atmore scored 12 runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to end the game via the mercy-rule.
Elliott Faircloth scored three times to lead Atmore. He batted 2-for-2 with a double. Dustin Hall, Ben Hess, Hunter Milliken, and Skyler Peacock all scored twice on the day. Hess and Peacock each added doubles. Matthew McGhee and M.J. White added the other Atmore runs.
Peacock pitched all five innings for Atmore and struck out ten Evergreen batters.
Atmore 5
Monroeville 4
Atmore gutted out a big win Monday night over Monroeville, holding off a late rally to send themselves to the district championship game against Brewton.
Atmore led 5-1 after three innings, but were shut out the rest of the way.
Elliott Faircloth once again found ways to get across the plate, scoring twice and adding a double to lead Atmore. Hunter Milliken, Lawrence Thomas, and Justin Rolin added the other Atmore runs.
Milliken pitched six innings for Atmore and struck out three. Thomas came on in relief and earned a save.
Atmore took on Brewton Tuesday night for the district title. They would have to defeat Brewton twice to claim the championship. Look for full coverage of the cross-county battle in Sunday's Advance.
Atmore's 13-year-old All-Stars were eliminated Saturday by Monroeville by a score of 20-5. Stats were not immediately available, but will be included in Sunday's Advance.