Oxford, AL – Down a quarter of key players, the Choccolocco Monsters ride Allen’s and Minor’s arms, big offensive performances to run-rule victory in Sunbelt semifinal series opener.
By Joe Medley
The Choccolocco Monsters keep showing just how well their brain trust assembled a roster.
Now two weeks into life without the top two hitters in their order, missing the Sunbelt League’s ERA leader and missing Trey Higgins with a wrist injury, the league’s regular-season champion marches on.
Starter Andrew Allen and reliever Griff Minor combined to hold the Cartersville Cannons to four hits, and the Monsters run-ruled its way to a 10-0 victory in seven innings in Friday’s Game 1 of their league semifinal series at Choccolocco Park.
The Monsters (19-8) and Cannons (12-15) play Game 2 of their best-of-3 series at Cartersville on Saturday. The if-necessary game would be Monday at Choccolocco Park.
The series winner plays the winner between the Gainesville GolDiggers and Atlanta Crackers in the finals. Friday’s Game 1 of the GolDiggers-Crackers series was postponed.
By virtue of holding the league’s top seed, the Monsters would have home-field advantage in a best-of-3 finals series.
Thanks to rainouts in their final two regular-season home games, the Monsters played Friday for the first time since July 17. They looked rested, if not resilient.
“This team is full of great players,” Monsters coach Ricky Ray Clayton said.
Just less so than it was two weeks ago.
The Sunbelt League is a summer wood-bat league for college players. The later play pushes into July, the more likely it pushes up against players’ obligations to their college programs.
Leadoff hitter Rashad Robinson (Jacksonville State) and No. 2 hitter Cole Tremain (Cal-Berkeley) played their last game July 13, when the Monsters finished off a sweep of Gainesville at home. Pitcher Dawson Campbell, the Sunbelt League’s ERA leader, shut down for the rest of the summer season.
Higgins, one of the team’s two Oxford High grads, hasn’t played since the Gainesville series because of a wrist injury.
For those keeping score, the Monsters have played on without the league’s best pitcher by ERA and their entire starting outfield. Clayton has said he considered Tremain the league’s best player this season.
“We just talked about the biggest thing is, there’s got to be some guys step up,” Clayton said.
Allen, the 2024 Alexandria grad who joined the team midseason, has done just that. He struck out 10 batters and allowed four hits in 5 1/3 innings Friday.
Including the high school playoff, he remains unbeaten in postseason Game 1s in 2024. He won Game 1 of all five Alexandria playoff series en route to the Valley Cubs’ Class 5A state title.
“That’s pretty cool,” Allen said. “I don’t think I’ve thought about that.”
Allen’s performance should help the Monsters in Game 2.
“He allowed us to use just one other pitcher tonight,” Clayton said.
Minor pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings of relief with three strikeouts, and Howell Polk will start Game 2, Clayton said.
At the plate, Taylor Harris went 3-for-3, including a two-run double in the first inning. Mason Walker was 2-for-3 with a two-run double. Sebastian Collender added a two-run single, and Andrew Wells’ two RBIs included a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“We’re all hot right now, rolling,” Harris said. “It couldn’t happen at a better time. … We have depth everywhere, outfield, infield and especially pitching. It’s going to be huge in the playoffs.”
Photo gallery by Joe Medley
