T he S ports L edger
JUNE 2023
PAGE 7 www.TheSportsLedger.com
Alabama Baseball Program Concludes 2023 Season In Super Regional
KICKOFF CLASSIC - Selma and Beauregard will officially open the 2023 high school football season in the 18th annual Kickoff Classic on Thursday August 24 at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl, Opelika (5-5) and Thompson (13-1) will play on Friday, August 25 in the second game of the annual classic. Both games will be at 7 p.m. Last fall, Helena defeated Chelsea 28-6 and Auburn defeated Hoover 17-14 in the 2022 Kickoff Classic games. GADSDEN STATE YOUTH CAMP - The Gadsden State Cardinals Athletic Department will host a youth basketball camp for boys and girls in grades 1 through 7 from 8 a.m. to noon on June 26-27. Registration fee is $65 per camper to attend both camp dates or $40 per camper to attend one day. For more information or to register, contact Coach Deddric Tarver, Cardinals head coach and camp director at 205-368-2353 or 256-549-8310 or dtarver@gadsdenstate.edu. VOLLEYBALL CAMP - The Gadsden State Cardinals Athletic Department will host volleyball team camp playdates, skills camp and a prospect camp this summer at Beck Field House on the Wallace Drive Campus. Prospect camp is for athletes who are interested in playing volleyball at the college level. The schedule is below: • July 12 – Varsity & JV Playdate - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., $150 per team • July 13 – Junior High Playdate - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., $50 per team • July 24 – Prospect Camp (Grades 10-12) - 9 a.m. to Noon, $60 per player • July 25 – Skills Camp (Grades 1-5) - 9 a.m. to Noon, $40 per player • July 25 – Skills Camp (Grades 6-8) - 1 to 4 p.m., $40 per player • July 26 – Varsity Playdate - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., $100 per team For more info contact Coach Courtney Brothers at cbrothers@gadsdenstate.edu. All participants will need to provide medical release forms which can be obtained by contacting sgauthier@gadsdenstate.edu or 256-549-8310. CROSS COUNTRY CLINIC - The Gadsden State Community College Cross Country Program is hosting a cross country distance clinic for students entering grades 7-12. The clinic will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. July 14 at Beck Field House on the Wallace Drive Campus in Gadsden. The cost to participate is $50 and runners may register at RunSignUp.com. Lunch will be provided for participants. Participants must register by June 25 to get a camp t-shirt. All participants must upload a copy of their current physical. Camper check-in and same-day registration will take place from 8 to 8:15 a.m. in the Beck Gym on the Wallace Drive Campus. For more information contact Roseanne Green at rgreen@gadsdenstate.edu. GOLF CAMP - The Guntersville High School Kids Golf Camp is set for July 18-20 at Gunter's Landing Golf Club. The event is from 8:30-10:30 a.m. each day and is for boys and girls ages 6-12. Campers will be taught the fundamentals of the golf swing, including grip, stance and posture. The camp will be taught by the GHS golf coaching staff, current and former players, and current college players. Pre-Registration is $75 by July 13 and $85 on-site at the event. For more info call 256-582-3364. DONNY JONES GYMNASIUM - The DeKalb County Board of Education has announced that the new gymnasium currently under construction at Collinsville High School will officially be named the “Donny Jones Gymnasium" in honor of former coach and administrator Donny Jones. The gym is anticipated to be completed this coming Fall. JSU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME - The 2022- 23 Jacksonville State University Athletics Hall of Fame will honor four former standouts from on the field and one that also served the Gamecocks from the sideline. The class includes Charlie Maniscalco, former baseball player that eventually became a heralded offensive coordinator for the Gamecock football team during their dominant run through the Gulf South Conference. Also in the class are All- American and US Olympian shooter James Hall - who led the Gamecock rifle team to national prominence, softball ace Karla Pittman - the top arm on Jax State's 2009 Super Regional team and Bert Smith - one of the best infielders and consistent hitters to put on a Jax State baseball uniform. The class will be formally inducted in the biennial Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday, August 25, 2023 and will also be honored during the August 26, 2023 football game vs. UTEP. Sideline Sports
Southern Miss hit four home runs to beat No. 13 Auburn 7-2 in the 2023 NCAA Auburn Regional at sold- out Plainsman Park. The loss ended the Tigers’ season. “The responsibility lies on me,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “Our team made a good run. This group put us in position after a really tough start and stayed in the fight the entire season to get us to this point to host a regional. We didn’t link it up enough in these two days to have success against two really good opponents.” Both teams had nine hits but all of Auburn’s were singles while the Golden Eagles’ four extra-base hits yielded 16 total bases and six runs. Southern Miss capitalized on a leadoff error and a walk to take a 3-0 lead on Christopher Sargent’s three-run home run in the top of the first inning. Dustin Dickerson led off the third inning with a solo homer over the green monster to give the Golden Eagles a 4-0 lead. Dickerson homered again near the same spot in his next at-bat, putting Southern Miss on top 5-0 and ending the outing of Auburn starting pitcher Tommy Vail (5-2), who struck out four and allowed four earned runs in 4.1 innings. “He’s a fighter for us,” Thompson said of Vail. “We would not have been able to be here without Tommy Vail.” Konner Copeland relieved Vail, exiting in the sixth when USM loaded the bases with three straight one-out singles. The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 6-0 on a sacrifice fly off Chase Isbell, who worked the final 3.2 innings, striking out four while allowing one run. After totaling four singles in an 11-inning loss to Penn, Auburn managed nine more against Southern Miss, ending the regional without an extra-base hit. “We pride ourselves on getting timely hits the past month or so,” Bryson Ware said. “The past few games, for whatever reason, it hasn’t been falling our way. Hats off to Southern Miss, they played a great game. I couldn’t be happier to be a part of this team.” Southern Miss starting pitcher Billy Oldham (7-3) shut out Auburn for five innings, departing after allowing Auburn’s first run in the sixth. Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Ware drew a walk to start a two-out rally. Three consecutive singles by Cole Foster, Chris Stanfield and Cooper McMurray scored two runs for the home team. Nate LaRue and Ike Irish singled in the seventh but a strikeout ended the inning. Auburn stranded two more runners in both the eighth and ninth innings, six of the 11 Tigers left on base in the game. “I really felt like we were one or two swings away,” Thompson said. “I didn’t think our approach started getting better until the sixth inning today.” Danny Lynch hit USM’s fourth home run with one out in the eighth, to give the Golden Eagles a five-run lead. The 2023 Tigers (34-23-1) made program history by hosting back-to-back NCAA regionals after posting an SEC-best 12-3 record in the second half of league play to finish 17-13, Auburn’s second consecutive winning conference campaign. “Being able to play in front of these fans is something I’ll hang my hat on for years to come,” said Ware, who set Auburn’s season record with 24 home runs. “I’m really happy that I was a part of that and could contribute. It’s a really cool memory that I’ll cherish for a really long time.” “Amazing environment,” Thompson said of the overflow crowds that included a packed stadium parking deck and hundreds of tailgaters beyond the center field fence. “I’ve seen the growth where people are interested in college baseball in this community and this university.” Auburn Baseball Concludes Season Alabama totaled 593 strikeouts on the year to tie the Alabama single-season record. The 1999 team also struck out 593 across 69 games. The 2023 team averaged 9.27 strikeouts per game compared to the ’99 squad’s 8.59 mark. Overall, the Crimson Tide totaled 112 home runs on the year, which is good for fourth on the all-time single- season list. Alabama homered in 54 of the 65 total games this season while producing multiple homers 35 times. Colby Shelton hit his 24th and 25th home runs of the season. He finished his freshman campaign tied with Dustan Mohr for third place on the Alabama single-season list. "I think they are everything that is good about college athletics. I think they are everything that is good about the world today. The character they’ve shown and the resiliency they’ve shown these past couple of months, I think serve as a great example to hopefully a lot of people.” The Crimson Tide’s 43 wins are the most in a season since 2006 when Jim Wells’ squad finished at 44-21 .
The University of Alabama's 2023 baseball season came to a close with a 22-5 loss at top-ranked Wake Forest on Sunday, June 11. The Crimson Tide finished the year at 43-21 overall. Wake Forest scored three in the first with Alabama answering with two runs in the home half on an Andrew Pinckney home run. The Demon Deacons added two runs in the second inning and again UA countered with a solo homer from Colby Shelton. Wake Forest put together a five-run third inning to set the score at 10-3. The two teams were held scoreless until the sixth, trading runs over the final three frames for a 22-5 final. Wake Forest starter Josh Hartle (11-2) picked up the win while the loss was tagged to Alabama’s Jacob McNairy. “I’ve done this a long time, and I’ve never been more proud of a group of individuals than I am of this group," said Alabama Interim Head Coach Jason Jackson.
Craig Roden has been named the Snead State Community College women's basketball coach. Roden, a native of Marshall County, returns to take over the women’s basketball program for a second time in his career. He was the Lady Parsons head coach from 1980- 1984, compiling a 65-34 record. His 1983- 84 squad finished the season 22-4 and was ranked 13th nationally. He is shown with family members (L-R) James Tyler Roden, Press Roden, Craig Roden and Debra Griffin Roden. Read more about the his coaching career online at www.thesportsledger.com Craig Roden Named Snead State Women's Basketball Coach Submitted Photo
Boaz 10U All-Star Pitcher Avelyn Matthews delivers a pitch during a recent game. Delivering The Pitch Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
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