Congratulations to the Acdemy Sports + Outdoors Sox Spotlight Players of the Month for March. There were 15 players on the ballot - and here are the top vote recipients...
The March Sox Spotlight Players of the Month
Offensive
Fischer Howell – 12U Bridges Hattiesburg. Fischer was selected as the player of the week twice in March as he put together a stretch of tournaments batting .467 with a 1.900 OPS. He hit 4 home runs including two grand slams to bat in 12 runners. Howell is a 6th grader at Petal Upper Elementary and keeps his bat tuned with his instructor Jeff Farris, and his coaches Donnie Bridges and Josh Thoms.
Pitching
Gage Thompson - 14U Copeland Hattiesburg. Gage excelled on the mound for the month of March, pitching 8 innings with a miniscule 0.87 Earned Run Average and 15 strikeouts to help his team win the USSSA March Madness tournament in Chalmette, LA. From Oak Grove, Thompson is an 8th grader Lamar Christian. Gage also plays shortstop. To stay focused on the mound, he works hard to mentally and physically prepared, and concentrates on his control.
SSG Sox Softball
Lily Brewer – 12U Plaisance Auburn. Brewer had one of those months in March that pitchers dream of at all levels…11 innings pitched with a 0.05 Earned Run Average and an incredible 25 strikeouts. Lily is a 6th grader at JF Drake Middle School in Auburn AL. She is very comfortable on the mound, and works hard with her pitching coach. Brewer was also named a Player of the Week in March.
Each week, 50 coaches and administrators vote for the Academy Sports + Outdoors Sox Player of the Week. The nominees on the ballot are created using the performance of every player that played that week and recognizes players that overall had an exceptional tournament. The Player of the Month ballot is created with the overall monthly performance of all Sox players for the month. Each winner also receives an Academy Sports $50 Gift Card.
Baseball and Softball finished its first full month of play in March. Sox teams have hit the field in tournaments in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana, tuning up for the Spring/Summer stretch.
Looking at Sox teams that played in the Championship Game in March, two teams were the last team standing in their respective tournaments to win it all. The SBG Sox 14U Turner (Jackson division) team coached by David Turner won the USSSA Magnolia State Select tournament in Flowood MS, and the SBG Sox 14U Copeland (Hattiesburg division) team coached by Scott Copeland won it all at the USSSA March Madness tournament in Chalmette LA. SBG Sox have 14 championships under their belt for the 2021 season through March.
Making it to the Finals is a big accomplishment for any team, and several SBG Sox teams had good runs, finishing up as the runner up in five events in March. The SBG Sox 14U team coached by Justin Reed (Jackson division) was a finalist in the Grand Slam Central MS Super Slam in the Jackson area; the SBG Sox 13U team coached by Chris Bedenbaugh (Hattiesburg division) played in the Championship game of the GSSA South Super Regional Tournament in Pascagoula MS; and three SBG Sox 11U teams were runners up in March…Coach Tanner Jones in the Auburn division at the Perfect Game First Pitch Classic in Auburn…Coach Austin Howland in the Jackson division at the Grand Slam March Madness in Clinton MS…Coach Drew Mattison in the Hattiesburg division with a runner up finish in the Battle on the Coast held in Gulfport MS. SBG Sox have 16 Runner Up finishes so far, with SBG Sox teams playing the final game of a tournament in 30 events for the 2021 season.
For more information email info@sbgsox.com
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