Dixie Majors have good showing at state
Contributed The Franklin County Red Tigercats of the Dixie Majors stand in front of the scoreboard at historic Bloch Park in Selma. Pictured left to right are: Matt Moses, Kelby Hallmark, Abraham Mojica, Nick Schmittou, J.T. Watkins, Taylor Hamilton, Chase Lindsey, Tyler Hastings, head coach Donnie Hastings, Jacob Green, Justin Roberts and Kevin Hastings.
SELMA — The Franklin County Red Tigercats of the Dixie Majors had a good showing at the Dixie Majors state tournament in Selma at historic Bloch Park.
The tournament began last Thursday for Franklin County and extended to this week.
Opp, a team that easily beat East Alabama 18-0 in the tournament final, ultimately put the Red Tigercats out of the tournament.
“I felt like we could have won the tournament if we had beat Opp,” head coach Donnie Hastings said. “But that’s how it goes.”
Franklin County started off with a 10-4 win over East Alabama, a team from the Gadsden/Boaz area.
The Red Tigercats scored eight runs in the third and one in the fourth to take a 9-1 lead before the score ended as it did. J.T. Watkins was the winning pitcher, throwing six solid innings.
Kevin Hastings led the team at the plate in the game, going 4-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.
Nick Schmittou went 2-4 with two RBIs, Tyler Hastings went 2-3 with an RBI, Watkins brought in two RBIs, and Kelby Hallmark, Jacob Green and Chase Lindsey each had an RBI single.
Franklin County was put in the loser’s bracket in the next game after a 9-6 defeat at the hands of Morgan County, which is based around Decatur and Hartselle area players.
Kevin Hastings had two doubles in the game, Hallmark had two hits and an RBI, Watkins had three hits and an RBI and Justin Roberts had two hits.
The Red Tigercats followed with a win over Tuscaloosa in a close game three.
Tuscaloosa had a 3-1 edge in the game but Franklin County scored five runs, including four in the fifth inning, to take a 6-4 lead.
Abraham Mojica reached base on a strikeout, allowing Matt Moses to bring him and another run in on a two-run single to give the Red Tigercats the lead.
Kevin Hastings pitched six innings in the contest, allowing only one hit with 12 strikeouts.
Schmittou went 4-4 at the plate with two RBIs, including two doubles. Moses had two hits and three RBIs and Lindsey had two RBIs.
“Our team is a combination of different guys from around the county,” Coach Hastings said. “It’s good to see them join together and play.”
Franklin County made it into the final three teams before being put out by Opp, the eventual tournament winner.
Franklin County had a 2-0 lead on Opp before the team tied it up at 2-2 in the fifth.
Opp hit a two-out, two-strike blooper over the third baseman in the sixth to score two runs and end the deadlock.
Opp won 5-2, ending the tournament for Franklin County.
“We were the only team to take a lead on them in the tournament,” Coach Hastings said. “We were the only team to play them close.”
Kevin Hastings went 3-3 with two doubles in the game and Lindsey had two RBIs.
Hastings had a .750 on-base percentage in the tournament, reaching 17 out of 20 times. Schmittou and Watkins, two soon-to-be college players, both had a batting average of .429 in the tourney.
“This is my third or fourth year coaching these guys, and I’m really proud of them,” Coach Hastings said.
