Heidelberg blasts into Class A finals

By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
May 12, 2003
The Heidelberg Academy Rebels have been generating a lot of power on the baseball diamond this spring.
In 27 games, the Rebels have hit 62 home runs. Not bad considering they had just two through their first four contests.
In last week's Academy Class A third-round sweep of Winona Christian, the Rebels hit nine long balls in taking 18-1 and 14-3 wins.
The Rebels will be looking to add to their total this week as they take on Porters Chapel in a best-of-three series for the Academy Class A state championship.
The series begins Tuesday at Vicksburg. Porters Chapel swept Franklin (La.) 10-1 and 13-1 last week to improve to 27-2.
Homers have played a big part in Heidelberg's school-record 25-game win streak and their 26-1 mark heading into the series with Porters Chapel.
Nine Rebels have gone deep so far with Mason Key and Matt Andrews sharing the team lead with 14. Ryan Aultman has 10, Brooks Lewis eight, Blake Bass, six, J.R. Stephenson four, and Brent Welch three.
Heidelberg's Mitch Gavin Memorial Field measures 320 feet down each line and 350 feet to dead center. While the Rebels have jacked 62 homers for the year, the Heidelberg pitchers have given up just five circuit clouts.
Lewis and Aultman are both 8-0, Stephenson and Welch are both 3-0, and Paul Zeagler is 3-1.
The Rebels are 6-0 in the playoffs, averaging 15.2 runs per game in the postseason. For all 27 games, the Rebs are outscoring their opponents by a 14.7-3.7 margin.
Heidelberg and Porters Chapel met in the 2001 finals with the Rebels taking the championship en route to a 21-5 season.