Tigers earn all-area honors

By Andy Brown

Published: June 4, 2008

Eufaula right-hander Desmond Thomas’ lively fastball and sharp-breaking curve ball caught plenty of hitters looking this season.

They also helped the senior catch the eye of coaches around the area.

Thomas, along with senior Sterling Burns and juniors Bill Hamrick, Logan DeFee and Zack Brown, earned All-Class 5A, Area 3 honors.

“This is a great honor for these guys,” Eufaula head coach Scott Ates said. “They worked hard this season and it’s great for them to be recognized for that. It’s also great for our program because we have three of these guys coming back next season.”

For Thomas, it’s the second year in a row he has been named to the squad. He’s the only Tiger to make the team in back-to-back seasons.

As a senior, he posted a 4-3 record and tallied 50 strikeouts in 50 innings of work. He also recorded a save. At the plate, Thomas finished with a .319 average and belted seven doubles and two home runs, while striking out just eight times in 72 at bats.

Hamrick batted .324 with four home runs and six doubles, while also posting a 2-4 record on the mound. He struck out 28 batters in 42 innings and recorded two saves.

DeFee earned a spot on the team by posting a .359 average.

Burns batted .328 this season and Brown hit for a .315 average and also pitched eight innings and struck out five batters.

The all-area team, which is made up of players from Eufaula, Charles Henderson, Carroll and Rehobeth, is voted on by the coaches from the four schools.
Fifteen players were named to this season’s squad.

Charles Henderson’s Jonathan Wade grabbed Class 5A, Area 3 Player of the Year honors and Charles Henderson’s Brad Phillips snagged Coach of the Year honors after leading the Trojans to the Class 5A state championship where they finished as runner-up to champion Cullman.

Phillips, who resigned his post at Charles Henderson following the season to pursue other coaching opportunities in the Florida panhandle, shared Coach of the Year honors with Ates last season.

Other members of the all-area team include Charles Henderson’s Wade, William Teal, Logan Pierce, David Flemming and Sam Jones, Carroll’s Grant Grider, Curtis Pryor and Kaleb Shuman and Rehobeth’s Matt Hodges and Martin Kingry.