Dothan Post 12 wins 10th straight district title

Robert Anderson ignited Dothan Post 12 with a leadoff home run that went about 340 feet in the seventh inning.

But his biggest at-bat came one inning later, when he needed to move the ball about 30 feet.

His perfectly placed bunt single up the third-base line loaded the bases with nobody out, sparking a second straight three-run inning as Post 12 defeated Enterprise Post 73 7-5 to win its 10th straight district championship Sunday at Northcutt Field.

Dothan Post 12 advanced to this week’s American Legion State Tournament in Troy and will open play Friday at 7:30 p.m. against West Alabama Post 29.

Enterprise Post 73 controlled the first six innings of the contest. They chased Dothan starter Chris Barrentine with three runs in the third inning before Post 12 reliever Parrish Smith worked out of trouble. Post 73 starting pitcher Zach Kandle threw five shutout innings and took a 3-1 lead into the seventh before running out of gas.

“They came to play,” Dothan Post 12 manager Larry Tubbs said. “Zach Kandle is very good. He kept us off-balance all day long.”
Enterprise manager Steve Matherly said Kandle’s performance was excellent.

“Plus, he had pitched four innings yesterday,” Matherly said.

Enterprise led 3-1 in the seventh when Anderson delivered his leadoff homer over the left-field fence.

“I was kind of mad. We made a lot of mistakes early,” Anderson said. “I got two strikes on me. He tried to get a fastball in on me. I really wasn’t looking for it. I just reacted and my barrel got out in front. It kind of ignited the team because we got up right after that.”

Post 12 then loaded the bases as Zach Payne was hit by a pitch and Hunter Young and Brennan Olive both reached on bunt singles.

A key play followed. Cale Nolen hit a fly ball to left. Chris Morris, who threw out a runner at the plate in the third inning, caught the ball and fired home. Payne was going to hold at third, but Morris’ throw sailed over the catcher’s head and Payne dashed home to tie the game and the other runners moved to second and third. Neil Hudson followed with a more traditional sacrifice fly to Morris that allowed Young to score easily with the go-ahead run.

Leading 4-3 in the top of the eighth, Post 12’s Josh Podoris and Monterio May opened the inning with singles. While Matherly went out to talk to Kandle, Tubbs called Anderson over.

“This at-bat’s more important than the home run,” Tubbs told him. “You’ve proved your worth by hitting the home run, now you’ve got to get those runners over.”

“It was kind of weird going from a home run to a bunt,” Anderson said. “I said I got it, coach. He said, ‘I’m going to keep it on you until you strike out.’”

He didn’t strike out. Anderson bunted a low slider up the third-base line. Kandle had no play and the bases were loaded.

Payne drove in Podoris with a sacrifice fly down the right-field line. Young’s sacrifice bunt moved Anderson to second base. With two outs, Brennan Olive singled past third baseman Tyler Eldrith to make it a 7-3 Dothan lead.

Smith gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth before ending the game with the 7-5 victory. But he kept his team in the game early.

Enterprise led 3-0 when he came on with one out in the third inning. Joe Davis and Don Rhoads touched him for singles as Post 73 loaded the bases.

“I just had to bear down and make some pitches and trust the defense would turn it over — and they did,” Smith said. “I really just had to make good pitches. They’re an aggressive swinging team.”

He got a strikeout and a groundout to get out of the bases-loaded jam in the third.

Enterprise had 13 hits, same as Post 12. But Post 73 was one hit away from a big inning several times. They stranded 14 baserunners, 13 in the first seven innings.

“Parrish came in and put a stopper in it a little bit and shut them down,” Tubbs said. “He made some pitches to get out of some jams. He’s been effective for us all year. It was give and take about who was going to start today. He’s just one of those guys that brings a little energy to it.”

Enterprise scored three in the third off Barrentine. Trent Matherly and Thomas Hughes singled. A wild pitch moved them into scoring position. Morris walked, and ball four was another wild pitch that brought home Matherly. Alex Garcia bunted home Hughes and moved Morris to second. Eldrith’s single scored Morris and gave Enterprise a 3-0 lead. It also ended Barrentine’s day.

Smith followed with 6 2/3 innings of solid relief.

Hayden Hillyer’s infield single scored Nolen, who had walked, with Post 12’s first run in the sixth inning.

Rhoads was 3-for-4 for Enterprise. Tyler Warren was 2-for-4, including an RBI double in Post 73’s two-run rally in the ninth.