Photo: The Coosa 12U All-Star baseball team gathers for a photo prior to the recent Little League Southeast Regional Tournament at Warner Robins, Ga. Pictured, front row, from left: Ridge Reeves, Blue Houston, Hayes Silvey, Jude Bush, Carter Green, Dane McEntyre. Middle row, from left: Jacob Williamson, Graham Frazier, Tanner Hall, Mason Reeves, Judson Nicholson, Drew Tucker. Back row, from left: coach Jason Silvey, coach Ryan Frazier, coach Corbin Driskell. (Courtesy of Average Joe’s Sports Talk)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
The Coosa 12U All Stars spent the past few weeks putting Etowah County on the Little League baseball map.
After winning a second straight Alabama state championship in Phenix City, the team qualified for the Little League World Series Southeast Region Tournament in Warner Robins, Ga..
“We came down here with the goal of improving on what we did last year,” said Coosa head coach Jason Silvey. “Last year’s team wanted to have the opportunity of experiencing (the LLWS Regionals), and this year we wanted to go a little further.”
Coosa opened the tournament on Aug. 1 with a 19-3 loss to Tennessee-Goodlettsville that dropped Coosa to the elimination bracket.
“[The Southeast Regional] is a big production, and it’s probably the biggest environment most of our kids will ever play in except for the few who might wind up playling college baseball,” said Silvey. “With all of the cameras and the distractions on the first day, we weren’t focused on baseball and playing our game. When you’re thinking of not making a mistake in front of the cameras, it puts a lot of pressure on you, and that showed against Tennessee.”
Silvey and fellow coaches Corbin Driskell and Ryan Frazier addressed the issue following the game at the team’s hotel.
“We just told them not to focus on the external factors, which will overwhelm you if you let it,” said Silvey. “Just play hard and play for your teammates and play baseball the way we’ve been practicing it. We also told them to enjoy every moment on that field, because this really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The team apparently took that advice to heart. On Saturday, Aug. 3, Coosa posted a 12-5 win over West Virginia-Hurricane for the program’s first regional win since 2018. Coosa then beat North Carolina-Greenville, 4-1, later that day to advance to the playback bracket semifinals.
“I thought our guys played fantastic on day 2 and day 3,” said Silvey. “They were resilient and there was no quit in them.”
Unfortunately, any hopes of traveling to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the Little League World Series were scuttled after Coosa’s 17-2 loss to Georgia-Oconee County on Sunday, Sunday, Aug. 4.
“We had a rain delay in the [North Carolina] game, and we didn’t get back to the hotel until after midnight,” said Silvey. “The kids had to get up around 6:30 in the morning the next day so we could get a little batting practice in, so they didn’t have too much time to recover. So we were a little sluggish and came out a little flat against Georgia.” After the first few innings when it was apparent that the game would end on the 10-run mercy rule, Silvey gathered the team together.
“There wasn’t a whole lot we could do defensively, because most of Georgia’s hits hit the gaps or went to the fence or over the fence,” he said. “I told them that we had one last at-bat and one last inning in the field, and that they should hold their heads up and give the best effort that they possibly could. No matter what the scoreboard, says, go out there and finish strong. And that’s what our guys did; they pulled themselves together and fought until the end.”
Regardless of how Coosa fared at regionals, Silvey noted that the team’s comportment did not go unnoticed on the part of tournament officials.
“When I was picking up my scorebook from the press box before I left, both the director and assistant director at Warner Robins told me that they had so much fun watching our kids play because we had good energy, we played as team and were always picking each other up. The umpires told us how polite and respectful our kids were.”
For the tournament, Coosa had 25 hits, drew 18 walks and batted a collective .298.
Hayes Silvey had a single against Tennessee to score the first run of the tournmaent and did not commit a fielding error for the tournament.
In 3.2 innings against North Carolina, Mason Reeves allowing two hits and one run. He also had a two-run single to make the score 4-1.
Drew Tucker tossed 2.1 shutout innings against North Carolina and came up with a strikeout with the bases loaded. He came through with a game-tying single during the same game.
Also against North Carolina, Judson Nicholson had an RBI double that tied the game and made diving play in the field to save a run.
Blue Houston had a pair of hits against West Virginia, including an RBI triple that gave Coosa the lead.
Graham Frazier had nine putouts in the outfield and came through with a big strikeout on the mound against Georgia.
In 4.1 innings against West Virginia, Ridge Reeves pitched 4.1 innings while allowing five hits and three runs.
Carter Green made a pair of important relief appearances against Tennessee and West Virginia. He also made several key defensive plays at third base against North Carolina.
Jude Bush pitched several solid innings against Tennessee that allowed Coosa to conserve its pitching for games 2 and 3. He also drew a big walk in the North Carolina game and later scored an insurance run.
Tanner Hall hit a three-run home run against West Virginia that provided Coosa with a five-run lead. He also pitched well in two appearances on the mound.
Also against West Virginia, Jacob Williamson had a pair of hits, including a double. He also made a sliding catch in right field against Tennessee.
Dane McEntyre had two hits and scored the tying run against North Carolina and had an RBI against Georgia.
Silvey expressed appreciation for the support provided by Coosa Baseball Association President Lance Driskell along with the cities of Rainbow City, Southside and Gadsden. Silvey also expressed gratitude for the donations and contributions from the many local businesses that defrayed the cost of the trip to Georgia, including Buffalo Wild Wings, Massey Asphalt Pa-ving, Odyssey Health Spa & Fitness, Innovative Mobile Solutions, Plaza Transport of Centre, Going Yard, Matthews Screen Printing of Ohatchee, Rainbow City councilman Jeff Prince, Realty Plus of Gadsden and the Willow Tree.
“So many people helped out, from the practice fields to transportation to donations,” he said. “It really helped make their experience a great one. The parents did a phenomenal job when it came to fundraising and getting sponsorships. They poured everything they had into it in order to make it such a great experience for these kids.”
Coosa was the first Alabama team to win a game at the southeastern regionals since McCalla-Bessemer in 2018.
Since 2008, only four other teams from Alabama have won a second game at regionals – McCalla-Be-ssemer in 2018, Ladonia-Phenix City in 2017, Westside-Mobile in 2011 and Huntsville-Eastern in 2010.
While making it to the elimination bracket semifinals, Coosa scored more runs than any previous Coosa teams that qualified for the southeast regionals, including the 2023, 1996, 1995, 1991, 1988 and 1986 teams.
The only Coosa team to advance further that the 2024 team was the 1995 team that made it to the winner’s bracket final.
“I told the kids beforehand that regardless how well we ended up doing, I wanted them to enjoy their time here and represented their community well both on and off the field,” said Silvey. “I think they did a phenomenal job.”