Former champ returns to win Home Run Derby

Danny Collins of Niceville (Fla.) High was penciled in to hit between professional sluggers Cody Johnson and Gabe Gross.

His nerves were on end as he stood at the plate in the championship round of the 15th Annual Wiregrass High School Home Run Derby at Pitman Field on Saturday afternoon.

“My heart was racing a million miles,” Collins said.

After a couple of swings, however, Collins was a cool customer in ripping 16 home runs to win the high school portion of the event.

Professional Clint Robinson, a former Northview and Troy standout now in the Kansas City Royals organization, was the overall winner with 20 home runs.

“You get to come out here with a bunch of my buddies and enjoy the day,” Robinson said. “This is a game for kids, and I’m very fortunate and thankful to be able to do it as a professional.”

There were 39 high school players who went through preliminary rounds for a chance to advance to the finals and test their power-hitting skills against five professionals with local ties. The prep players used aluminum bats, while the pros used wooden bats.

The three high school players making it to the finals after each hitting 11 home runs during the preliminary rounds were Collins, Cass Abercrombie of G.W. Long and Chris Morris of Enterprise.

Collins, a University of Alabama signee who still has his senior season to complete at Niceville this spring, said he got word of the event from his prep coach Brad Phillips, formerly of Charles Henderson.

“I’ve been working on this,” Collins said of his home run swing. “I didn’t think I would do this well. It definitely brought me down to earth hitting between those two big hitters.”

Gross, the former Northview and Auburn star who played last year in the World Series with Tampa Bay, was perhaps the star attraction, but Robinson and a couple of Enterprise products led the way for the pros.

Adam Godwin, who played at Enterprise High, EOCC and Troy, hit 14 home runs to finish behind Robinson in the pro category, while former Enterprise star Robert Brooks, now in the Atlanta Braves organization, hit 12 home runs.

“This is always a lot of fun,” Godwin said. “I get to come out here and do what every kid would love to do.”

Godwin played in the Southern League all of last season in Jacksonville, Fla., and hopes to make the Dodgers’ AAA club this year, which is just a step away from the big leagues.

“I’m going to fight for a triple-A spot in spring training with the goal of ending the season in Los Angeles,” Godwin said.

Gross had 10 home runs in Saturday’s derby, while Johnson, who won the overall championship as a prep player for Mosley (Fla.) in 2006 and is now in the Braves’ organization, finished with eight.

Morris hit eight home runs and Abercrombie six to finish behind Collins in the high school division.

Morris, who is a senior at Enterprise High, was competing in his first home run derby.

“It was great — a lot of fun hitting with these guys,” Morris said. “You saw how hard they were hitting those balls.”

While well-known pros such as Chipper Jones, Ryan Klesko and Wes Helms have been part of the derby, in recent years event organizer Larry Tubbs has decided to feature locals who are involved in professional baseball.

“These guys are such good guys,” Tubbs said. “I will always stay with the local guys now.”

On what was a picture-perfect day, a large crowd turned out to watch the hitting display.

“This is the largest crowd we’ve ever had,” Tubbs said. “I’m very pleased.”

Proceeds from the event go to help fund the Dothan Post 12 American Legion baseball club, which Tubbs manages. The event was co-founded by Tubbs and former major leaguer Mike Mordecai, who is now the baseball coach at Houston Academy and served as the pitcher in the finals on Saturday.

Each year, a scholarship to Enterprise-Ozark Community College is presented in the honor of David Hussey, a former Enterprise player who won the 1997 derby before dying in an automobile accident later that year. This year’s recipient was Ryan Johnson of Enterprise High.