Dothan Eagle selects coach, player of the year in baseball

Player of the Year - Cass Abercrombie
Background: A senior shortstop/pitcher for G.W. Long who will walk-on at Troy University next year.

The Numbers: Abercrombie hit .410 (43-of-105) with seven homers, 43 runs batted in, 35 runs scored and 10 stolen bases on offense, while striking out only seven times in 116 at-bats. Though limited to 34 2/3 innings in pitching, he finished with a 4-1 record and 3.43 ERA, striking out 64 — earning 12.91 strikeouts per seven innings. His seven homers were second most in the Wiregrass, the 43 RBIs tied for second most and the 12.91 strikeouts per seven innings were second best in the area.

Abercrombie on player of year award: “It is an honor. The Dothan Eagle has done a lot for me through the years and I owe a lot to them for getting my name out there. I appreciate it (player of year award) and it is an honor.“

On preseason goals: “I wanted to pitch better, but I didn’t feel like I had my mechanics down as good as I did in the fall and summer. I didn’t want to put that much pressure on me (with numbers). I just wanted to go out there and play. The ultimate goal was to win the state championship.”

On overall season: “I got a lot more consistent (batting average, homers, RBIs were up from last year and strikeouts on offense and ERA as a pitcher went down). I got a lot better in my mechanics at the plate and I was more consistent. The last two years I started out hot then came down with slumps. I was a lot more consistent in the season.”

G.W. Long head coach Drew Miller on Abercrombie: “Cass is a great player. He is very versatile. He can play infield, outfield and pitch. It was hard to get him a lot of innings on the mound because he was such a good shortstop. He was solid at the plate and on defense. We asked a lot of him with coming in relief after playing infield, but he works hard at what he does and that allowed him to be ready for those situations.”

Coach of the Year - Lucas Davis
Background: Former Samson baseball player who was in his first year as a head coach after serving as an assistant coach with the program in Jack.

The Numbers: Davis led Zion Chapel to its greatest baseball season ever. The Rebels set a school record for wins with 24 and advanced to the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history. Overall, Zion Chapel finished 24-9, losing to eventual state champion American Christian.

Davis on coach of year award: “It is a great honor. It seemed like everything the kids did made me look good. It was them. I am very excited to get this, but at the same time I am proud of the guys.”

On preseason expectations: “I expected us to be good if not better. The one thing I saw as an assistant coach was were missing consistency. This year we were more consistent. We had one starter go 9-2, another 7-3 and one 4-0 with four saves and we had seven of nine batters hit over .400. We hit about .250 last year compared to .396 this year. We were a lot more consistent in both areas.”

On key to the team’s success: “The leadership of our six seniors. It will be tough to watch them go and it will be tough to replace them. When you look at the sheer numbers, it will be tough to replace and three were pitchers too. They led on and off the field. These guys stepped up.”

On when he realized his team could be really special: “Probably after we beat (area foe) Reeltown because I heard a lot of good things about them. We also played Brantley (early in the year) and split with them and they had a special team. We also started playing some bigger schools and we beat Andalusia and Carroll, Class 4A and Class 5A schools. After those wins, the kids were like, ‘Hey we are good.’ Those were confidence builders because nobody expected us to beat those type of teams.”