AAA ROOKIES: Rookie team ready for districts, playing in warm-up tourneys to prepare
Published 3:00 am Tuesday, June 16, 2015
![The AAA Rookie Team are working hard for their trip to Eufaula for the District Tournament on June 19. Picutred are, back row, left to right- Ryan Brown, Davis Kilcrease, Mario Davenport II, Colton Taylor, Bradley Prestwood and John Lott. Front row, left to right- Tre’Von Brown, Andrew Galloway, Houston Guner, Malachi Cooper and Braden Prestwood. Not pictured- Slade Renfroe. MESSENGER PHOTO/MIKE HENSLEY](https://www.troymessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2015/06/DSC_3574web.jpg)
The AAA Rookie Team are working hard for their trip to Eufaula for the District Tournament on June 19. Picutred are, back row, left to right- Ryan Brown, Davis Kilcrease, Mario Davenport II, Colton Taylor, Bradley Prestwood and John Lott. Front row, left to right- Tre’Von Brown, Andrew Galloway, Houston Guner, Malachi Cooper and Braden Prestwood. Not pictured- Slade Renfroe.
MESSENGER PHOTO/MIKE HENSLEY
The 2015 AAA Rookie Team under head coach Chris Goshea is enjoying learning the game of baseball while at the same time getting ready to make a run at the District Tournament.
The Rookie team is made up of 9- and 10-year-old athletes who succeeded during the regular season of the recreation league.
The players of the AAA Rookie are: Ryan Brown, Tre’Von Brown, Malachi Cooper, Mario Davenport, Andrew Galloway, Houston Gunter, Davis Kilcrease, John Lott, Braden Prestwood, Bradley Prestwood, Slade Renfroe and Colton Taylor.
Joining Goshea on the coaching staff are Josh Prestwood and Mario Davenport.
“This is just a great experience for not just us as coaches, but for the kids as well,” Goshea said. “It gives the kids more exposure because they are playing at a higher level.”
Goshea and the Rookie team is aiming to win the District title this season, but Goshea said the team is also looking to have a little fun along the way.
“These are the memories that will stay with them long into their adulthood,” Goshea said. “If we are able to go on to bigger and better things and capture that elusive title they will forever be linked together.”
Last weekend the Rookie team took part in some early season games to get ready for tournament play, and Goshea said while the team is young, he liked what he saw. But, Goshea did admit the team needs to practice to get ready for the tournament play.
“The guys played well,” Goshea said. “We made a few costly base running errors, but we are looking to make improvements from what we saw last week”
The Rookie team played in a warm-up tournament in Enterprise over the weekend out scoring opponents 24-1. Goshea said Houston Gunter pitched a four-inning shutout with a 21-0 win over Greenville.
The Rookie team will take part in the District Tournament in Eufaula on June 19.