Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | DeKalb County's Oldest Newspaper

They’re the all stars of all-stars By Lew Gilliland The Times-Journal Published July 30, 2009 Dylan Simpson was an impact player for the Crossville 11-12-year-old baseball all-stars this summer, both with his bat and his head. Simpson used his head to start the winning rally in one of the most memorable games of the 2009 all-star baseball and softball season in DeKalb County, and the youngster used his bat to put together one of the most memorable performances of the year. Simpson wasn’t the only one making headlines over the last few months. Teams representing the Fort Payne, Plainview, Collinsville, Mountaineer and Fyffe franchises put together solid performances in all-star baseball, while a couple of teams, one from Fort Payne and one from Sand Mountain, stood out in softball. All those efforts, and others, are saluted today as Times-Journal takes a look back at this year’s all-star superlatives. Most Memorable Baseball Teams Fyffe 11-unders: Playing on its home field, Fyffe finished second in the Dizzy Dean Region 3 Tournament and earned a trip to Gardendale for the state tournament. Fyffe closed 3-2 in the regional and 2-2 at state, picking up victories over Chelsea and Pinson Valley at Gardendale. The Fyffe squad included Eli Allen, Mason Barber, Garrett Butts, Jacob Christian, Cyle Collins, Chad Gray, John Headrick, Brody Houston, Will Mashburn, Anthony Mountain, Dakota Newsome and Logan Sears. Rainsville 11-12s: Rainsville finished second in the Dixie Youth District 8 O-Zone Tournament at Fort Payne, picking up three wins in five games. Rainsville rallied from an 8-7 deficit after five innings to defeat Piedmont 11-8 in the loser’s bracket final before falling to Boaz 6-5 on a walk-off homer in the championship game. The Rainsville roster included Colton Bevel, Alec Edmondson, Bryan Jimenez, Will Kirk, Ethan Johnson, John David Martin, Blake Shankles, Jake Slay, Brice Smith, Jake Wells, Ben Williamson and Chase Willingham. Collinsville 9-10s: Collinsville has struggled recently in Dixie Youth district level events, but the franchise’s 9-10 club enjoyed a strong run in the District 8 Tournament at Glencoe. Collinsville went 3-2 and finished second to Cherokee American in Pool A. Team members included Johnathan Byers, William Crane, Raleigh Dutton, Brian Freeman Isaiah Ford, Richard Long, Joshua Jones, Edgar Morales, Patrick Nelson, Alex Parker and Austin Posey. Mountaineer 7-8s: The Mountaineers finished 4-2 and took second place in Pool A in the District 8 Tournament at Centre. After dropping a second-round game to Sylvania, the Mountaineers rallied for three straight wins, defeating Glencoe 13-12 to force an “if-necessary” game in the pool finals before being eliminated. Team members included Zachary Allen, Jacob Ring, Heath Phillips, Austin Young, Jace Palmer, Tucker Cook, Jordan Bain, Winston Wilks, Koby Tinker, Chase Henderson, Drake Casey and Dylan Roper. Fort Payne 13-14s: Fort Payne finished 3-2 and took second place in the Dixie Boys District 8 Tournament at Boaz. The team included Cameron Womack, Jacob Crowe, Jordan Terry, Matt Chisenhall, Brady Abbott, Seth Ballenger, Tyler Fraebel, Cole Gifford, Chandler Kramer, Zack Magnusson, Jacob Owens, Layton Powell, Chris Pellam and Ian Richards Most Memorable Softball Teams Fort Payne 10-unders: Fort Payne took three of five games and claimed second place in the Alabama Recreation and Parks Association State Tournament at Winfield. Fort Payne picked up two victories over Russellville and another over Talladega. The team included Ashlyn Holland, Kryslin Chappell, Thanne Thompson, Nykeia McElrath, Brook Ingram, Haley Tooley, Julianna Roberts, Leandra Underwood, Kayla Tooley, Allie Jett, Larissa Turgeon and Bailey Stephens. Sand Mountain National 9-10s: The Nationals defeated Sand Mountain American 2-0 in a best-of-three playoff for the District 6 championship and then split four games in the state tournament at Scottsboro. The Nationals picked up wins over Butler and Pleasant Grove at state. The team’s roster included Morgan Flynn, Savannah Hood, Caitlin Tinker, Shelby Hawkins, Haley Blansit, Deanna Meadows, Kimbrelin Still, Hannah Culpepper, Jordan Davis, Jessica Lee, Taylor Eason and Tia Freeman. Most unlikely rally, Part I Arab pitcher Clayton Cox was dominating host Crossville in an elimination game at the 11-12 traditional Dixie Youth Baseball District 8 Tournament until one of his pitches hit Dylan Simpson in the head with two out and nobody on in the fifth. Arab led 1-0 at the time, and with Cox in command, the base-runner didn’t look like a big deal. But Crossville took advantage of the opening. Simpson, who was unhurt on the play, raced to third when Evan Burroughs followed with a bloop single to right. Arab tried to nail Simpson at third, but the ball ended up in the Arab dugout. By rule, both Simpson and Burroughs, who went to second on throw, were awarded two bases, meaning both scored to give Crossville the lead. Those runs were enough for Crossville’s Brady Williams, who pitched a two-hitter and struck out five to preserve the 2-1 victory. Cox struck out 10 and took the tough-luck loss. Most unlikely rally, Part II The Rainsville 11-12s led Piedmont 7-3 before giving up five runs in the fifth in an elimination game at the Dixie Youth District 8 O-Zone Tournament at Fort Payne. Rainsville bounced back in the sixth and did so without the benefit of a hit. Rainsville took advantage of five walks, three wild pitches and a sacrifice fly to score four runs in the inning and hang on for the 11-8 victory. Most memorable performance, Part I Fort Payne’s Ian Richards wasn’t supposed to pitch in the Dixie Boys 13-14 District 8 Tournament at Boaz, but with his team short on options due to Dixie pitching limitations, Richards stepped up. He tossed a six-hitter and struck out three as Fort Payne defeated Ider 4-3 to reach the championship game. “Ian pitched a little bit during junior high during the season; he hasn’t pitched at all this summer,” Fort Payne coach Nick Owens said. “We were short on pitching, and he came out and did a great job for us when we really needed someone to step up.” Most memorable performance, Part II Crossville’s Simpson put together the top power display of all-star season. He had two homers and five RBIs in Crossville’s 12-11 loss to Glencoe in the 11-12 traditional Dixie Youth District 8 championship game. 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