AAA All-Star Action heats up

By: Shelia Mader

Cottondale’s rec park was alive with laughter, happy faces, and players giving it 100% in hopes of capturing a district championship and the opportunity to move closer to a state championship. In AAA action, Cottondale had competition from county rival Graceville, Vernon, and Holmes County.

Graceville wins game one over Cottondale

The two Jackson County teams went head-to-head Friday night when Cottondale hosted Dixie Youth District action. It was the visiting Graceville team taking the 19-8 victory.

Rhett McLeod had the starting nod on the mound for Sneads. He gave up nine runs on nine hits, one walk and struck out three batters. Gus Moseley came on in relief, gave up four runs on two hits, three walks, and struck out four batters, before Kobe Kernoschak closed out the game. Kernoschak gave up six runs on three hits and three walks. Ryder Woodham started on the mound for Graceville and gave up two runs on one hit, three walks, and struck out two batters. Max Sosa came on in middle relief, gave up four runs on two hits, two walks, and struck out two batters before giving way to Tyler Hatfield. Hatfield gave up two runs on one hit, three walks, and struck out three batters.

Offensively, Cottondale was led by Noah Arnette with two hits, one run scored, and two RBIs, followed by Gus Moseley with a walk, a hit, a run scored, and an RBI, while Liam Whitehead recorded a walk and an RBI. On board with a hit and a run scored was Khelton McClain, while Adryian Atkins had two walks and a run scored, and Rhett McLeod recorded a walk, and two runs scored. Kobe Kernoschak added a walk, and a run scored, while Finn Trimble and Camdon Meadows both recorded a walk, while Everett Obert added a run scored to his stats.

Graceville was led at the plate by Luke Hendrix with three hits, two runs scored, and five RBIs, followed by Jase Messer with a hit, two runs scored, and three RBIs, while Brantley Robinson had a hit, a run scored, and three RBIs. Ryder Woodham recorded a hit, two walks, two runs scored, and two RBIs, followed by Ashton Bowden with two hits, two runs scored, and one RBI, while Max Sosa recorded three hits and three runs scored. Zack White had two hits, one walk, and three runs scored, while Jace Greer had a walk, a run scored, and an RBI. On board with a hit and a run scored was Liam Watson, followed by Tyler Hatfield and Briar Carswell each with a walk and a run scored.

                                                                                Cottondale wins 11-5        

The Cottondale AAA team took the field Saturday morning in a must-win situation and they came through like champions. They dealt Ponce De Leon an 11-5 loss to stay alive in district competition.

Rhett McLeod had the starting job, went two and a third innings, gave up one run on two hits, one walk, and struck out three batters. Gus Moseley was second on the mound, and went one and two-thirds innings. He gave up no runs on no hits, one walk, and struck out five batters. Camdon Meadows was the next one on the mound. Meadows went one and two-thirds innings, gave up four runs on two hits, three walks, and struck out four batters.

At the plate, Cottondale was led by Kobe Kernoschak and Gus Moseley each with two hits, two runs scored, and two RBIs, followed by Khelton McClain, Rhett McLeod, and Liam Whitehead recording one hit, one walk, two runs scored, and an RBI. On board with Jaxton Kelly with a hit and an RBI, while Noah Arnette had two hits and one run scored, with Camdon Meadows adding a pair of walks.

Cottondale eliminated from playoffs

The Graceville and Cottondale AAA teams went head-to-head again Saturday with Graceville taking the 11-5 win to stay alive in the playoffs and end Cottondale’s season.

Cottondale sent Rhett McLeod to the mound for the starting job. McLeod gave up three runs on four hits, no walks, and struck out five batters. Gus Moseley was the next Hornet on the mound, gave up five runs on two hits, three walks, and struck out four batters before giving way to Kobe Kernoschak. Kernoschak closed out the game, giving up three runs on two hits, three walks, and striking out three batters.

Tyler Hatfield started for Graceville, gave up four runs on three hits, three walks, and struck out one batter before Ryder Woodham took the mound. Woodham gave up one run on three hits, no walks, and struck out five batters. Jace Greer closed out the game, gave up no ruins on no hits, no walks, and struck out two batters.

Offensively, Cottondale was led by Adryian Atkins with a hit, a run scored, and an RBI, followed by Liam Whitehead with a hit and an RBI, while Everett Obert recorded two hits and scored a run. Noah Arnette was on board with a hit and a run scored, while Finn Trimble recorded a hit, Kobe Kernoschak drew a walk and scored a run. Jaxton Kelly and Easton Lanier added a walk to his stats, while Camdon Meadows recorded a run scored.

Graceville was led by Max Sosa and Ashton Bowden both with two hits, two runs scored, and an RBI, followed by Ryder Woodham with one hit, two walks, two runs scored, and an RBI, while Jace Messer recorded a hit and an RBI. On board with one hit and two runs scored was Zach White, while Liam Whitehead had a run scored and a hit, with Briar Carswell adding two walks and a run scored to his stats. Tyler Hatfield tacked on a walk and a run scored to his all-star stats, with Brantley Robinson recording a walk.

Graceville was eliminated from district play in their game played Sunday. We do not have stats or scores for that game.

Congratulations to both teams on their efforts, sportsmanship, and play in the district tournament from the publisher and staff of the Jackson County Times.