By BY BRUCE HIXON – SPORTS EDITOR
He may have been short in name, but Opp's Trey Short came up big in performance.
Short pitched a complete game two-hitter with nine strikeouts and added three hits and four RBIs at the plate to lead Opp to an 8-3 win over the Brewton Little League Age 11-12 All-Stars in Wednesday's third round of the District 5 Tournament at Evergreen.
The win sent Opp into Saturday's championship round and left it only one win shy of the district crown.
Brewton only had five baserunners and hit just three balls out of the infield against Short. Brewton never got its first hit off Short until Tyler Dehoff beat out an infield single to start the fifth inning.
Short was just as effective at the plate, as he reached base all four times he went to the plate. Short reached on an error in the first inning on a play that eventually led to a pair of runs. He belted a two-run double the next frame, beat out an infield hit and scored in the fourth and ripped a two-run single in his final at-bat in the fifth.
Tyler Weeks was also a sharp thorn in Brewton's side. Although Weeks had just one hit, that one hit was a homerun. Weeks was on base four times through two intentional walks and a hit batsman in addition to his roundtripper. He also scored three runs.
Brewton fought an uphill battle throughout the game. Opp built a 4-0 lead during the first couple of innings against Brewton pitcher Tyler Dehoff on Dylan Northey's two-run single in the first inning and Short's two-run double the following frame.
Brewton got on the board in the top of the third without the aid of a hit. Sam Smith walked and courtesy runner Caleb Stewart went to second on a passed ball and to third with a stolen base. Stewart scored when Ryan Hunt's groundball was misplayed by Opp third baseman Mason Wood.
Opp ran its lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of runs against Brewton reliever Wes Maddox when Weeks belted a solo homerun over the right field wall and Northey added an RBI single.
Short helped secure his win in the fifth when his two-run single extended Opp's advantage to 8-1.
Brewton got a couple of runs in the sixth. Stewart was hit by a pitch and Jacob Fillmore hit a double off the center field wall that allowed Stewart to score all the way from first base. Fillmore went to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
At Evergreen
Brewton 001 002 - 3 2 2
Opp 220 22X - 8 10 2