From staff reports
BIRMINGHAM – The Trussville 7U American All-Star team overcame a slow start and a No. 7 seed in pool play to win the 7U Metro Baseball Championship on Monday at Oak Mountain Baseball’s Heardmont Park.
The Huskies downed Hoover’s Shades Mountain All-Stars in the title game by a count of 15-5, sending the 7U Metro crown back down I-459. Trussville was propelled by an 11-run lead that was built early in the decisive contest.
From bottom left to right: James Noles, Tate Bamberg, Lane Bilodeau, Gavin Bittle, Carson Phillips, Cohen Looney, Jackson Reeves, Chase Webb, Eli Nelson, Luke Stodghill, Trip Cole, Brent Bilodeau, Butch Cole, Patrick Stodghill and Brad Bamberg.
That lead was believed to be the product of some heavy momentum built by the Huskies throughout bracket play. Despite facing a harsh stretch of competition, Trussville came into the championship game unblemished in bracket play.
“Something clicked after that second pool play game” said Head Coach Butch Cole “ We came together as a team, coaches [Luke] Stodghill, [Brent] Bilodeau and [Brad] Bamberg made a few tweaks and finally got used to machine pitched baseball.”
Cole continued about the 13-team tournament.
“Trussville teams were the only teams in the Metro tournaments that didn’t use machines in regular season, so we first had to make the transition from the coach pitch game to machine pitch.”
According to Cole, his team relied heavily on strong defense and a clear mental game through its early contests.
“Once the bats woke up, we able to play a little looser and each and every one of these boys stood up and made a play when their team needed them,” Cole said.
Trussville’s championship series with Shades Mountain was seen by an especially large crowd of roughly 500 people, according to reports. The game’s officials said it was probably one of, if not the most watched game in Metro history.
“It was really a home game for us,” said Cole.
