CHILDERSBURG–West Alabama Babe Ruth 14-year-old All-Stars head coach Seth Allgood says that his team kept up just fine in the arms race at the state tournament. It was the bats race they struggled with.

West Alabama finished with only two hits for the second consecutive game, losing to tournament hosts Childersburg 5-1 in an elimination game Saturday. Despite the losses (West Alabama had dropped their first game to Covington County Thursday) Allgood says he was more than happy with how his team performed on the mound.

“I was encouraged by our pitching,” he says. “The scores don’t reflect how well we really pitched. But we only had four hits in two games. That’s what it all boiled down to.”

Taking the mound against Childersburg was Shelby Speegle, who allowed only one earned run in going the distance. Allgood attributed three other runs to errors and one scored on a balk.

“He pitched a really good game,” Allgood says.

The two West Alabama hits belonged to Tanner Armstrong and Alex Glass. The lone run came in the fifth inning when Trey Lloyd drew a walk and took advantage of a series of passed balls to come around and score.

Despite the frustration of losing, Allgood says he was glad for the experience and that team had enjoyed themselves on the road.

“We had a good time,” he says, “we just didn’t make plays.”

Allgood is joined on the coaching staff by Kevin May and Tony Speegle. Team members include Guy, Alex Glass, Tyler Morrison, Trey Lloyd, Tanner Armstrong, Ryan Guin, Morgan LeCroy, Stephen Stewart, Shelby Speegle, Trey Oates, Alan Brooker, and Jacob Kerby.