All-around game
If the Mountain Brook High School baseball team is going to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015, the Spartans will do it by being solid in every facet of the game.
That means at the plate, running the bases, on the mound and in the field.
“We definitely want to be an all-around team and do all things well,” said head coach Lee Gann. “We’re not always going to get the best pitching or always going to get the best defense, so we want to be well-rounded in every phase.”
The Spartans seem to be capable of doing just that. Mountain Brook boasts a senior class of 17 players. Within those 17 student-athletes are the tools to make a team successful.
“They’re one of the most unselfish groups I’ve ever been around,” Gann said. “They do not care who gets the credit as long as good things happen. When you don’t care who gets the credit, good things do happen.”
After a couple seasons that saw the Spartans miss out on the postseason due to the combination of having a young team and playing in a tough area, Gann is hoping the experience accumulated over those missed opportunities will pave the way for a strong finish to the 2018 season.
“High school baseball, that’s just the way it goes,” Gann said. “Each year’s different. These guys have really bought into our program and our system and they give effort each and every day in practice and games. When you give great effort and care about one another, it’s exciting to be out here in practice and in games around guys like this.”
Last spring, the Spartans fell short against Class 7A, Area 6 foes Oak Mountain and Spain Park and missed out on the playoffs. This season, the Eagles were ranked second in the initial Class 7A Alabama Sports Writers Association, with the Spartans just outside the top 10.
In the early portion of the year, the Spartans had notched wins over the likes of Gardendale, Homewood, Briarwood, Clay-Chalkville, Chelsea and Jasper, while also winning a pair of games in the Perfect Game High School Showdown in Emerson, Georgia.
On the mound, the Spartans have had contributions from a handful of pitchers in the early going. Hayden Bruno has stood out, with performances like his one-hit shutout of Chelsea on March 5. That evening, he hurled all seven innings, walked one and struck out eight batters against a Chelsea team that advanced to the Class 6A quarterfinals last season.
Andy Hanaway, Andrew Sink, Dowd Ritter and Hughes Mitchell are some other arms Gann mentioned that have helped the Spartans so far, along with Bo Meadows and Aaron Shiflet. Meadows and Shiflet have provided shutdown frames in the late innings to close out games. With all of those arms, Gann said they offer a skill set that adds to the pitching staff.
“We’ve got some guys that are different but they all bring something to the table that’s positive,” he said.
Hanaway, Sink, Mitchell, Shiflet and Meadows are seniors. Along with Thomas Graham, Hill Cater, Tyler Imig, Wilson Higgins, Harrison White, Phillip Bethea, Parker Garrison, Clay Stearns, Walker McCraney, Stone Favrot, Charles Cobb and George Carbonie, those seniors will have the greatest say in how well the season ends for the Spartans.
At the very least, they have made their coach’s job enjoyable.
“They’re a fun group to be around,” Gann said. “Fun group to watch and they love playing the game.”