Russellville 9-10 All-Stars heading to state tourney
By Staff
Scot Beard
The Russellville Little League Minor All-Stars extended their season this past weekend by sweeping Tuscaloosa-Barnes in the District 6 Championship Series.
With the victories Russellville advances to the state tournament in Mobile. The tournament will be July 18-19.
"They're tickled to death," said coach David Palmer. "It is a neat deal to be nine or 10 and get to go to the state tournament."
Russellville won the first game of the best-of-three series 13-6 Saturday and later completed the sweep with a 21-7 win.
Leading the way for Russellville in the victories were Cade Parrish with seven RBIs, Manly Wilson with five RBIs and a home run, Austin Stidham with three hits and five RBIs and Brock Malone with five RBIs.
John Gregory Pierce and John David Palmer picked up wins on the mound for Russellville.
"In general we have a good offensive team," David Palmer said. "They can hit the ball well up and down the lineup."
He said the defense still needs to improve and get better at completing routine plays, but the squad is making improvements.
The Russellville pitching staff lacks what Palmer calls a show stopper, but the guys in the rotation are disciplined and can throw the right pitches at the right time.
David Palmer said it is difficult for All-Star teams to build chemistry in such a short time, but he is pleased with his team's efforts and feels the players can compete with the other squads at the state tournament.
Team members include John David Palmer, Wilson, Stidham, Parrish, Pierce, Malone, Russ Carpenter, Tom Barkley Scott, Landon Ezzell, Josh Pinkard, Joseph Kiel and Payton Scott. Coaches include Palmer and Terry Ezzell.
