Selma keeps title hopes alive
Published 12:26 am Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Selma Dixie Boys All-Stars added the long ball to their hitting arsenal Monday night as Dylan Lawrence collected five RBIs on two home runs to beat AUM-Montgomery 6-1 for its first loss of the tournament.
Because Selma, AUM-Montgomery and Troy each have one loss, each team drew for a bye, which was won by Troy. So today’s matchups pit Selma and AUM-Montgomery in a 9 a.m. rematch, with the winner playing Troy for the state title at 11 a.m.
Selma manager Troy Anderson said his squad’s hitting has changed greatly since a 3-0 loss Friday night to Westside. He said the players have almost changed too much.
“We were almost too selective with our pitches tonight,” he said. “We should have momentum in the first game because of the way we played tonight.”
Anderson said he was also pleased with his team’s ability to fight back.
“We battled back all night,” he said. “And Dylan’s hitting wasn’t a big surprise; he has been hitting good in batting practice. Everyone has been hitting good.”
Lawrence said the pitches he hit weren’t anything fancy.
“They were fastballs,” he said.
Anderson said he planned to start Austin Anderson in today’s early game after Anderson pitched 1 2/3 innings Monday night behind winning pitcher Crawford Traylor.
“Then Joey Raybon will try the second game with that combination,” he said. “And we’ve still got Dylan, who can throw, if we need him to.”
Traylor went 5 1/3 innings for Selma, giving up one run on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks. AUM-Montgomery’s William Olsey was tagged with the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings, fanning five and walking two.
AUM-Montgomery took a 1-0 in the fourth inning when Tatum Dean singled, stole second, was bunted over to third then scored on Hayden White’s hit.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Raybon singled, then Lawrence hit his first home run over the right-center field wall.
With two outs, Selma rallied in the fifth inning for four runs, starting with singles by Traylor, Austin Anderson and Raybon, who scored Traylor. Lawrence then followed with his second round-tripper, this time to centerfield.