<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3eTkGz_0t3o4TZU00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3eTkGz_0t3o4TZU00" width="1280" height="853" ><figcaption>AHSAA 1A State Baseball Championship</figcaption></figure>Ricky Bowen was a star pitcher the first time Sumiton Christian won a state baseball title in 2004.Two decades later, he was talking about another Eagles championship – this time as the team’s head coach.Second-ranked Sumiton scored in every inning of Game 3 at Jacksonville State’s Jim Case Stadium on Wednesday and pulled away to beat No. 9 Sweet Water 14-3 to claim the 2024 Class 1A title.Sweet Water won Game 2 earlier to force the “if” game.“I have to give a lot of credit first to God but also to coach (Lance) Blair,” Bowen said. “It’s hard for me not to get emotional. I got to be a part of those first few teams he had. We went deep into the playoffs and then I was a part of that 2004 state title team.“He trained and coached a lot of these guys when they were young. When we discussed me taking over for him, everything just fit. Since the summer, it’s been a different energy. I have to give a lot of credit to these guys. They were bought in.”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">There it is. Sumiton Christian defeats Sweet Water 14-3 in Game 3 to win the Class 1A state title <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/alpreps?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#alpreps</a><a href="https://t.co/UQ7wNrG6z8">pic.twitter.com/UQ7wNrG6z8</a>— Ben Thomas (@BenThomasPreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenThomasPreps/status/1790841383428710510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>Blair retired following last season.Enter Bowen, who led the Eagles to a 28-5 record and another state title.“The first game we came out flat, a little tight, I thought,” he said. “I thought their starter (David Etheridge) did a fantastic job keeping us off balance. We played into what they wanted us to do – got out on our front feet, put the ball in the air. We couldn’t buy hits.“For the second game, Austin (Hubbard) has been in the frying pan a lot this year and has done a fantastic job. In discussing our options for Game 3, we decided to let Austin take the ball, and we couldn’t have asked for a better performance.”Hubbard pitched the first six innings to get the win. He allowed six hits and three runs and struck out seven. He walked just one. Colton Glass pitched the final inning.“We worked a lot of years to get here,” said Hubbard, a sophomore. “We failed a good bit of those years, losing in the third or fourth round. But we worked hard this year. We worked our tail off every day and came back the next day and repeated it. It’s a good feeling to take it home.”Sumiton opened the final game with three runs in the first inning and didn’t stop scoring. The Eagles added two runs in the second, single runs in the third and fourth, three runs in the fifth and two runs each in the sixth and seventh.“That was big,” Sweet Water coach Dawson Turberville said of Sumiton’s quick start. “We had a freshman on the mound (Jordan McManus). He still has some learning to do. He has stepped into big roles in big situations this year and pitched well. When you go down 3-0, it can take the wind out of you. I feel like we battled all game long, and that is what baseball is all about, staying in it until the last out.”Sumiton had a 10-run lead and was three outs away from a run-rule shortened championship twice, but the Bulldogs (23-16) cut the lead into single digits each time and forced the Eagles to play the full seven.Most Valuable Player Austin Scobey led Sumiton at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored. Glass was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Yancey Young, who is battling cancer, was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Kaden Parrish was 3-for-4 with two RBIs as the Eagles pounded out 16 hits off three Sweet Water pitchers. Parker Townsend led the Bulldogs with two hits.In the opener, Etheridge pitched a complete game for the Bulldogs. He allowed five hits and two runs to go with five walks and four strikeouts. Justin Hicks, the first of three Sumiton pitchers, took the loss.Sweet Water broke a 2-2 tie with a four-run fourth. Townsend’s two-run single was the big blow. Maddox Henson also had an RBI single in the inning. Townsend finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. He also stole three bases. Payton Averette went 2-for-3 with an RBI.Parrish and Hicks had RBIs for Sumiton.Key stats for the day: Sumiton -- Colton Glass, Kaden Parrish and Austin Scobey all had four hits on the day. Parrish, Yancey Young and Scobey all drove in three runs. Glass and Rusty McDonald each scored three runs. Sweet Water – Parker Townsend went 5-of-7 with three RBIs and five stolen bases in five attempts. Payton Averette had three hits. Maddox Henson and David Etheridge had two each.Did you know? Sweet Water was looking for its 11th state baseball title. The Bulldogs trail only G.W. Long (17) for most titles in AHSAA history. Hartselle could tie them this week with its 10th.They said it:“I think it was Yancey who said a setback is never as great as a comeback. Last year, it felt like we had a good team and got setback, but we felt like this year was the comeback year. It means a lot to win it for coach Blair, for the alumni, for my home school.” – Bowen.“As I said yesterday, a lot of our seniors have been playing four years, trying to get here. I feel like it was a relief to get here and try to finish the job. I said after Game 1, the job wasn’t finished. Now, it’s finished.” – Yancey.“I’m super happy for this group. They battled all season long. They overcame a lot of adversity. We’ve been in Game 3s all throughout the playoffs. We really felt battled tested coming into today. We got a great outing from David in Game 1 today. He really filled up the zone. We played really good defense. Game 2 didn’t go our way. We made some errors in some spots, and Sumiton put the ball in play and got key hits.” – Turberville.“Baseball is more than a sport. It’s a tool for life. To be runner-up in the state is great, but I’m anxious to see what this team and this group will do down the road as they grow and mature.” – Turberville.“We had some lows and some highs. I wouldn’t have wanted to play this season with any other group of boys. We had some really big wins, won some close games against good teams. I thought we would do well in the playoffs. I knew our seniors would step up, and I think we really did all season.” – Etheridge.</div></body>

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No. 2 Sumiton Christian outlasts Sweet Water in 3 games to win Class 1A baseball title

Ricky Bowen was a star pitcher the first time Sumiton Christian won a state baseball title in 2004. Two decades later, he was talking about another Eagles championship – this time as the team’s head coach. Second-ranked Sumiton scored in every inning of Game 3 at Jacksonville State’s...

No. 2 Sumiton Christian outlasts Sweet Water in 3 games to win Class 1A baseball title

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