Plenty of Madison County young ballplayers have gotten their hands on an all star district championship banner this year.
Madison County’s 11-12-year-old boys and the senior league guys joined the softball senior league girls in capturing district titles. The girls took the crown two weeks ago, while both boys’ squads won their tournaments last week.
At the 11-12-year-old level, Madison County’s dominance was never in doubt last week. The team rolled through every opponent, outscoring foes by a whopping 51-3 margin.
The scary thing is, they could have hit the ball even better. At least that’s what manager Grason Gillespie believes.
“All the guys are really patient at the plate,” said Gillespie. “We outscored opponents 51-3, but we really didn’t hit the ball like we’re capable of.”
Of course, it’s not just in the batter’s box where the all stars shine. They have six reliable starters they can throw at opponents.
“We’ve got a lot of pitching,” said Gillespie.
Now Madison County will sets its eyes on state glory. They know competition will get tougher, particularly with perennial power Warner Robbins in the mix.
But whatever happens in the upcoming state tournament, the squad made some lasting memories last week.
Here’s a recap of Little League district action:
In a 12-0 win over Franklin County Wednesday (July 6), C.J. Smith batted 3-for-4, while Golston Gillespie was 3-for-4 at the plate. Bryce Nix picked up the win, pitching four innings, while Luke Gillespie and Chan Pethel pitched in relief.
In a 19-1 blowout of Toccoa Friday night, Tyler Griffeth smacked a three-run homer in a 3-for-5 evening, while Golston Gillespie went 4-for-5 with two doubles and Chan Pethel was 3-for-5 with two doubles. Dylan Gentry picked up the win, fanning five batters and giving up one run. Luke Gillespie pitched in relief.
In the championship game against Rabun County Saturday, C.J. Smith and Chan Pethel both blasted grand-slam homers over the fences. Fireballer Golston Gillespie shut down Rabun, striking out six and yielding three hits.
Senior League
After a disappointing loss to open the district all star tournament, senior league coach Wes Roberts gave his squad a couple of days off from practice before the tournament resumed.
The rest seemed to do the trick as Madison County bounced back with wins over Franklin County, Habersham and two wins over Toccoa 13-0 in the semifinals Thursday and 13-1 in the finals Friday.
“I don’t know what clicked or what changed, but after the first game we exploded and started hitting,” said Roberts, whose squad had just three hits while committing nine errors in the first game. “It was like someone flipped a switch. I knew what kind of team we had.”
Roberts said he thinks his team has a chance to go far at state.
“I think we have a good shot,” said Roberts, whose team faced tournament participant Oconee County five times during the regular season and beat them each time.
Lee Griffeth shined at the plate and on the mound for Madison County last week, batting a team best 7-for-15 (.467 average) and picking up the shutout win against Toccoa in the semifinals. Griffeth locked down Toccoa that night, throwing only 17 balls in 72 pitches.
Madison County batted .294 in the tournament. Other notable hitters were: Keagan Whittington, 7-for-18, including a three-run triple in championship; Ethan Smith, 6-for-16; and Logan Pace, 7-for-19, including the team’s lone homer of the tournament in the semifinals.
