With a good coaching job by Chad Slaten, three strong senior leaders were able to lead a sophomore-laden team to a 22-11 record and a berth into the second round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs.
For their efforts, Childersburg was rewarded with having nine players selected on the 2012 All-Talladega County Baseball team and the Player and Coach of the Year honors.
Senior Colby Brasher led the way for the Tigers this season and for that he earned The Daily Home Player of the Year honors.
“We were a really young team,” Slaten said. “Our three seniors: Colby Brashear, Jacob Ozment and Chase Smith (Southern Union signee) did a great job of leading us all year long. We wouldn’t have had the team or the season like we had if it wasn’t for them. I am looking forward to what we have coming back. I am looking forward to getting back to work and hopefully having a really special year next year.”
The Tigers will have six of their nine All-County performers back next season.
Slaten said hopefully in the next two years his team will be playing in Montgomery.
“Next year we won’t have any seniors on our squad, so we will have everyone coming back again the next year,” Slaten said. “The next two years I am really looking forward to and I am really going to challenge our players to see if they can’t do something special.”
The future looks bright for the Tigers as they have all of their underclassmen returning for the next two seasons.
All of their underclassmen that made All-County are sophomores: Reeves Brashear, Trevor Bates, Justin Baker, Will Donahoo, Jamel Roston and Peyton Logan.
This season, Slaten accomplished some major feats.
Early on in the season, Slaten won his 400th game of his career against the Sylacauga Aggies. Slaten can add Coach of the Year honors to the many accomplishments he has gained with his team.
“It is just a reflection of our players and the hard work they put in,” Slaten said. “They make a coach look really good.”
The Aggies of Sylacauga are well represented on the All-County. Sylacauga went 15-11 on the season, but missed the playoffs.
The Aggies have eight players on the list.
Jake Edwards led the way for the Aggies this season. The Huntingdon commit had a batting average of .423 and an on-base percentage of .667. He recorded 30 hits as he drove in 21 runs and scored 30 runs in 26 games.
Cheston Wesson also had a good season for the Aggies. Wesson, a Huntingdon commit, had a 6-1 record off the mound. He was second on the team in strikeouts with 42. At the plate, he had a batting average of .371 and an on-base percentage of .476. He had 33 hits, 10 RBIs and he scored 29 runs.
David Ellison, a Huntingdon commit, had a stellar season for the guys in cardinal. Ellison had a batting average of .319 and an on-base percentage of .557. He recorded 23 hits, including a team-leading nine doubles. He also drove in 20 RBIs and scored 15 runs.
Alex Bentley, Austin Masters, Zach Pearson, Clay Wesson and Colton Richardson also earned All-County recognition.
The Lincoln Golden Bears are coming off a solid season.
Lincoln (8-8) finished second in the area and fell in the first round of the AHSAA Class 4A playoffs to Alexandria.
The Golden Bears were reward for their successful season with four players on the All-County team: Logan Sims, Colton Pate, Zay Caldwell and Adam Johnston.
The Talladega Tigers are coming off a season in which they showed improvement.
Their improvement didn’t always show in the win column, but it showed on the field. The Tigers had three players to earn a spot on the All-County team.
Toni Simmons had a batting average of .395, an on-base percentage of .573. The senior recorded 25 hits, including two home runs. He also drove in 23 RBIs on the season.
Matt Bishop earned a spot on the All-County team. Bishop had a batting average of .329, an on-base percentage of 429. He recorded 23 hits, including two homers. He also scored 18 runs for the Tigers.
Clay Coughran had a solid season for Talladega. The senior had a batting average of .315 and an on-base percentage of .391. He recorded 17 hits on the season and scored 10 runs.
The Munford Lions had four players to make the All-County team: Brett Haynie, Corey Dean, Huntingdon commit Wayne Parnell and Koari Champion.
