Russellville 9-and-10 All-Stars head to Jackson to play for title
Gabe Wallace, right, anticipates a hit while first baseman John David Palmer, left, waits for the hitter to swing. | Scot Beard/FCT
The Russellville 9-ad-10 year old All-Stars are traveling to Jackson today to participate in the Little League state tournament and head coach David Palmer likes his team’s chances.
Five members of this year’s team have experience playing in the state tournament, which Palmer feels is an advantage for his squad.
“Fifty percent of the team last year was nine-year-olds playing against opponents who already turned 11,” Palmer said. “That is tough. This year we can bring some experience.”
Palmer said the team has been practicing hard and trying to finalize a lineup that will work around its pitching.
He said the all the players are similar at the plate and the team does not have power hitters.
“We hit the ball well, but there is not a lot of power,” Palmer said. “We have two or three that can hit the ball, but we’re not a power hitting lineup.”
Palmer said the team has to be pesky to find success on the bases by using bunts to reach base and speed to move around into scoring position.
“We will be playing a lot of small ball,” Palmer said.
The team looks solid in the field with quite a bit of speed to chase down balls and Palmer likes the pitching staff. He has a pair of starting pitchers that can dominate.
Landon Ezzell pitches right-handed while Colton Madden is a southpaw. Once those two leave the mound Palmer has some accurate middle relievers and strong closers to finish games.
Palmer said there is only one problem his team will face in Jackson — a lack of game experience.
Palmer said the team has been practicing for several weeks, but because many communities in this part of the state are switching from Little League Baseball to Dixie Youth Baseball there are not enough teams to make a district in northwest Alabama.
“I hate we haven’t played a district tournament,” Palmer said. “The teams we will be facing have battled through district tournaments and we haven’t.”
Russellville will begin the tournament at 8 p.m. tonight against Westside Mobile. If Russellville wins, it will play Sunday. If it loses, the team will play Monday.
