Wetumpka baseball coach Russ Brooks had a successful beginning to his second stint as head coach of the Indians.
Brooks took over for Michael Dismukes, who now leads the baseball team at Elmore County. Brooks has also coached at Montgomery Academy and Robert E. Lee.
On a chilly night at Bazemore Field, Wetumpka used a seven-run sixth inning to finish off a 14-3 victory over Alabama Christian in the season opener Thursday.
Wetumpka (1-0) pounded out 13 hits in its first game since reaching the Class 6A quarterfinals last season.
Indians pitching duo Tyler Johnson and Colton Ashmore held the Eagles (0-1) to just four hits with Ashmore striking out seven batters — including the first he faced — through his three innings of relief.
“Tyler kept us in the game early, then Colton went in and won the game for us,” Brooks said. “(Colton) got us out of some bad spots and he cruised. It’s the best I’ve seen Colton pitch since he’s been here. He’s got some talent, and our bats finally woke up late.”
Johnson started the game on the mound, pitched three innings and allowed one run on three hits. Ashmore allowed two runs on two hits in the sixth.
ACA scored first on an RBI single by Alex Heilman in the second inning. Wetumpka responded in the bottom of the inning with RBI singles by Henry Evers and Peyton Dickey for a 2-1 lead.
The Indians added two runs in the fourth on wild pitches by Eagles starting pitcher Camden Sutton. Sutton pitched four innings and allowed five runs on six hits as the first of four Eagles to take the mound.
An early error in the fifth led to three more Wetumpka runs. Aiden Peake drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, Kyle Richardson drew a bases-loaded walk, and Evers hit an RBI groundout.
Wetumpka sent 10 batters to the plate in the game-ending sixth. Back-to-back singles by Connor Jacks and Lige Westbrook led to an RBI single by Logan Fawcett. After Johnson was hit by a pitch, Richardson hit an RBI single, Evers hit a sacrifice fly to left and Bo Bo Browing hit a triple. A base hit by Cooper Sanders resulted in three runs scoring on the final play of the game.
“We’ve got a good group of kids,” Brooks said. “We’re just trying to play hard and stay in the game. Maybe we win, maybe we don’t, but we try to be in the game by the seventh inning.”
One down, plenty to go.
Wetumpka broke a 32-year drought by reaching the quarterfinals despite going 24-16 last season, but this season is different and there’s plenty of time to tighten things up as the season continues.
“It’s just one game,” Brooks said. “We’re a long way from the playoffs. The draw is so important in the playoffs, too. At the end of the day, you don’t worry about that. It’s all about getting better right now.”
