Oxford, AL – Choccolocco Monsters have 6 from team recognized as SBL All-Stars, game is set for Sunday at Choccolocco Park
By Al Muskewitz
The expansion Choccolocco Monsters are serving as hosts for this year’s Sunbelt Baseball League All-Star Game and have six members of the team connected to the game.
The Monsters, currently 8-13 in the league and fighting for a wild-card playoff spot, landed two players, two coaches and two alternates on the rosters announces Wednesday night. The game is 3:05 p.m. Sunday at Choccolocco Park.
Monsters right-hander pitcher Will Griffith and shortstop Josh Cooper made the National Team roster, with leading hitters Nate Shipley and Brandon Prince among the alternates. DeWayne Crowder and Dalton Cobb will serve as coaches on the American Team.
“Obviously, they’ve preformed within the league at a high level,” said Monsters manager Steve Gillispie, who was asked to coach in the game but had to decline due to a scheduling conflict with his day job. “It kind of shows that maybe we’re not that far off and it’s just a matter of learning to play a little bit.
“You look at the guys who are on the roster, there were some guys who were part-time players where they were or redshirts or whatever and that’s kind of what the league’s for. We’re not that far off from being in the top half of the league.”
Griffith and Cooper will be on a National team comprised of players from the Brookhaven Bucks, Atlanta Blues, Gwinnett Astros and Alpharetta Aviators. The American team will consist of players from the Gainesville Gol’Diggers, Atlanta Crackers, Waleska Wild Things and Columbus Chatt-A-Hoots.
The Gol’Diggers, who own the league’s best record, led the way with 10 selections, including five pitchers off the league’s best staff. The Bucks have the next most selections with seven. Every team has at least one player.
The Americans will be managed by the Aviators’ Brandon Boggs. The Nationals will be managed by the Chatt-A-Hoots’ Steve Smith. Curiously, Crowder and Cobb will serve as coaches on the American Team opposite of their Monsters players.
Griffith has a 1-1 record with 4.69 ERA. He’s among the top 10 in the league in strikeouts (31 in 30.2 innings) and is equally comfortable as a starter or a reliever. He pitched 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief in the Monsters’ 5-3 win over Brookhaven Wednesday night.
“He’s kind of that horse; he needs to get out there regularly,” Gillispie said. “I’m going to see how many times I can get him out there (the rest of the season).”
Cooper is hitting .292 with a team-leading 19 hits, 10 RBIs and is 15-of-16 in stolen base attempts. He is 15 of 42 (.357) in his last 11 games. His RBI production has dropped since moving to the leadoff spot, but he continues to set the table for those hitting behind him. With only four infielders on the National roster he sets up to be a starter.
“He’s kind of earned that,” Gillispie said. “He’s been that steady guy and that’s what usually gets you those type of accolades, that you’ve done it over the long haul.”
Shipley leads the Monsters in hitting (.409), home runs (2) and is tied for the team lead in RBIs (10). Prince, the Monsters’ representative on the SBL Prospects team, was hitting .383 with 18 hits and 15 stolen bases when he left the team after last weekend to get ready for this week’s amateur draft and the coming college season.
“Shipley doesn’t have enough at-bats per games played to be leading the league in hitting, but he’ll get there,” Gillispie said. “You’ve got a guy who’s poised to win a batting championship that would beat out, if he stays hot, another one of our guys (Prince) who was actually leading the league before he shut things down. Those are two really good offensive players this summer and been really good in the league for us.”
Among the American pitchers, Gol’Diggers’ Austin Grause leads the lead in wins (4) and strikeouts (40), teammate Halton Hardy leads the league in innings (33.1) and is tied for second in strikeouts (38), Crackers’ Ryan Suppa (3-1, 2 saves, 1.46 ERA) leads the league in appearances (16) and teammate Hunter Lane leads the league in saves (4).
Among their hitters, Gainesville’s Theodor Bryant is second in the league in hits (18) and homers (4) and leads the league in RBIs (18). Teammate Bobby Boser leads the league in runs (19). Crackers outfielder Scott Campbell is second in hits (22) and doubles (7), while teammate Jamarie Brooks is hitting .405.
Among the National All-Stars, Gwinnett’s Tyler Clayton leads the league in ERA for pitchers with at least 16 innings (0.69), the Blues’ Charles Stephenson is second in the league in innings (31.0) and ERA (0.87), and Brookhaven outfielder Jack Herring leads the league in hits (23), doubles (8) and is second in RBIs (17).
“Obviously, it’s a collaboration of nine teams and we’re just trying to celebrate the kids who have had a good year,” Gillispie said. [*** read more]
SBL All-Star Rosters
AMERICAN TEAM
Pitchers
- Austin Grause, Gol’Diggers (University of South Florida)
- Blake Wehunt, Gol’Diggers (Kennesaw State University)
- Halton Hardy, Gol’Diggers (Francis Marion University)
- Riley Stanford, Gol’Diggers (Georgia Tech)
- Zach Valentine, Gol’Diggers (Georgia Highlands College)
- Nathan Alexander, Wild Things (Garner-Webb University)
- Brock Weiss, Wild Things (University of Colorado-UCCS)
- Ryan Suppa, Crackers (Columbus State University)
- Hunter Lane, Crackers (Lee University)
Catchers
- Samuel Gilliam, Gol’Diggers (Chabot College)
- Sam Thompson, Crackers (Michigan State University)
Infielders
- Cam Suto, Crackers (Lee University)
- Landon Underhill, Wild Things (Mercer University)
- Bobby Boser, Gol’Diggers (University of South Florida)
- Brett Blomquist, Wild Things (Western Kentucky University)
- Brady Moore, Gol’Diggers
Outfielders
- Jackson Mayo, Gol’Diggers (University of South Florida)
- Theodor Bryant, Gol’Diggers (Tennessee Tech)
- Scott Campbell, Crackers (Chattanooga State C.C.)
- Zane Ross, Chatt-A-Hoots (Albany State University)
- Jamarie Brooks, Crackers (Kennesaw State University)
NATIONAL TEAM
Pitchers
- Drew Bouchard, Aviators (Shorter University)
- Will Griffith, Monsters (University of Alabama-Huntsville)
- Cade Mitchell, Astros (Chattahoochee Valley C.C.)
- Tyler Clayton, Astros (Georgia Gwinnett College)
- Cole Turner, Bucks (University of Alabama-Huntsville)
- Logan Frady, Bucks (LaGrange College)
- Ben Norton, Blues (Cleveland State C.C.)
- Charles Stephenson, Blues (Berry College)
Catchers
- JD Kaiser, Aviators (Georgia Southern University)
- Andrew Pendleton, Bucks (Berry College)
Infielders
- Dylan Jones, Blues (Allegany C.C.)
- Wade Richardson, Bucks (Columbia State C.C.)
- Josh Cooper, Monsters (Claflin University)
- Kyle Carlson, Bucks (Piedmont College)
Outfielders
- Elgin Bennett, Astros (Kansas State University)
- Jack Herring, Bucks (Rollins College)
- Jack Poist, Bucks (Berry College)
- Christian Jackson, Blues (Georgia State University)
- Myles Austin, Blues (University of New Orleans)
Honorable Mentions
- Nathaniel Shipley, Monsters (Georgia Highlands College)
- Brandon Prince, Monsters (Georgia Tech)
- Tremarr Johnson, Blues (Arizona State University)
- Bryce Valero, Chatt-A-Hoots (Murray State University)
- Nick Morgan, Chatt-A-Hoots (University of West Georgia)
