DIXIE ALL-STAR AAAs: Auburn Blue eliminates Opelika American

VALLEY — Kelly Carter had a nice little chat with his Auburn Blue team after it fell to Tallassee in the opening game of the Dixie Youth AAA (9-10) All-Star District 10 tournament Monday.

Among the topics of conversation: bouncing back, which his players put into practice in a 10-1 win over Opelika American at the Valley Sportsplex on Tuesday.

“We expected to come in here and play good baseball (Monday), and we didn’t,” Carter said. “They came in here and showed what they had (Tuesday). They showed a lot of courage, showed a lot of hard work tonight for us.”

The visitors put three runs on the board before the Opelika players could even put bats in their hands.

Harrison Speaks led off the game with a double and scored on a wild pitch. Then Harris White mashed a solo home run to left field.
Then Clay Kiteley singled home T.D. Roof to give Auburn a 3-0 lead.

After Opelika answered with a run in the bottom of the first, the visitors put four more on the board in the second to take a 7-1 lead.

“We needed that confidence early,” Carter said. “(White’s) home run was a boost for the hole team.”

Auburn’s trio of pitchers took their cues from their teammates’ hot bats, as they cruised on the mound.

Noah Barnes, Clay Kiteley and Bailey Cone combined to allow only one Opelika hit. Barnes pitched the first four innings, striking out three, Kiteley handled the fifth, punching out two, and Cone struck out the side in the ninth.

“We worked on a few minor things, and they actually worked,” Carter said. “We stayed calm, stayed focused, and they did a great job with that.”

Along with his home run, White added a two-run double in the second, capping a 2-for-3, three-RBI evening.

“Tonight, he pulled his weight again,” Carter said. “We’re expecting it from him now, to go 2-for-3 or 3-for-3 every game.”

Speaks was 1-for-2 with two runs, Roof was 1-for-3 with a triple and two runs, Kiteley was 1-for-2 with two RBI, Cone was 1-for-3 with a double and a run, Barnes was 2-for-3 with a run, Drew Williams was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI, Patrick Anders was 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI, and Brooks Fuller added a hit, as Auburn rapped out 11 on the night.

Nathan Johnson tallied the only hit for Opelika, an infield single in the third, and Dalton Jenkins scored the home team’s lone run.

The win sends Auburn on to a consolation bracket game against Reeltown tonight at 6, and it sends Opelika home.

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