By By Tim Cottrell
After all age groups of Atmore All-Star Baseball were eliminated over the course of two weeks, only one team remains standing.
The Atmore Advanced Babe Ruth All-Stars, for ages 16-19, will begin the state tournament Thursday afternoon at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Andalusia after completing a 9-2 regular season that included wins over Covington County, Daleville, Northview High School, and Flomaton High School. Atmore's only losses were to Satsuma and Covington County.
Atmore added six players and split its squad Saturday to get one final game in prior to tournament play.
The Covington County All-Stars will be the host team for the event.
Atmore bypassed the district tournament for their area, as South Monroe refused to face them in a district tournament.
Atmore will take on Mobile Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. They will then face either the winner or loser of Huntsville and Covington County Friday at either 1:30 or 6:30. The tournament is a four team, double elimination tournament.
The Advanced Babe Ruth All-Stars are managed by Tom Wolfe. Assistant coaches are Richard and Kelly Drew.
Team members, which are pulled from Escambia County High School, Escambia Academy, Northview High School, and the surrounding areas, include Jordan Drew, Frank Boykin, J.J. Cutler, Clayton Haynie, Jeremy Greenwell, Corey Flowers, Michael Rolin, Darius English, Joe Drew, Thomas Wolfe, Josh Montel, David Paul, Norris Brooks, Alvin Simmons, Kenny McDonald, and Matt Reynolds.
Atmore's Advanced Babe Ruth team has a rich history of success in state tournaments, including a state championship in 2001. The team was state-runner up the following two years.
Due to deadlines, only Thursday's action will be available Sunday. The Atmore Advance will provide full coverage of the rest of the state tournament. Look for it in the upcoming Sunday and Wednesday issues.