Team Alabama outslugs Team Georgia in All-Star baseball game

Catcher Josh Brown and left fielder Brant Knox were two of several Team Alabama players in the 2017 Alabama-Georgia All-Star Game who played Little League baseball together. In the end, Brown, Knox and their other former teammates made the most of the reunion.

Brown and Knox led the charge on offense in Alabama’s 8-4 victory over Georgia at Columbus State’s Burger King Stadium. Together, the two drove in five of the team’s eight runs in an exhibition that had its share of big hits.

“It was great,” said Brown, who was 3-for-5 with two extra-base hits and 2 RBIs. “I played with a lot of (my Team Alabama teammates) in Little League, and I go to Glenwood, so we don’t get to really play public schools. It’s good to have everybody back on the same team again and do stuff like that.”

Brown broke the scoreless contest in the top of the second inning, doubling to left field to score Opelika’s Mitch Myers. After Central’s Wade Chandler’s fielder’s choice made it 2-0, Brown came through again, hitting another RBI double to leave Georgia in a 3-0 hole.

Brown said getting back into the rhythm of baseball was no tough task.

“I’ve pretty much been playing it my whole life,” Brown said. “It felt really good, hitting the ball out there.”

While Brown came up big early on, Knox saved his heroics for the latter stages.

After Georgia cut the deficit to 5-4 when Hardaway’s Chris Black scored on a wild pitch, Knox promptly blew the game back open in eighth. He hit a rocket deep in the outfield, pushing Central’s Dalton Wilder and Glenwood’s Carson Allison across the plate.

Knox slid in safely at third, though he admitted he had his heart set on an inside-the-park home run. Still, the three-bagger was something he was proud of.

“I just came out here and did what I love to do since I was a little kid,” Knox said. “Just to end my career on a triple, that was good.”

Though Georgia wound up on the losing end, several players posted strong performances. Harris County’s Jordan Griffin had the biggest hit for his team, delivering a 2-RBI double when his squad was trailing 5-0. Calvary Christian’s Nick Baker contributed his side’s third and final RBI with his sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth inning.

At the game’s end, Brown and Knox joined Wilder, Central’s Gage Dollar, Glenwood’s Carson Allison and Russell County’s Robert Miles for photos commemorating their play together on the 11- and 12-year-old Phenix City Nationals. The group of seniors may have gone their separate ways as they progressed in baseball, but Thursday’s game offered the chance for a proper farewell for them all.

Knox expressed how enjoyable this curtain call of sorts was and admitted he had missed the game as he warmed up Thursday. He joked that having bragging rights over his counterparts from Georgia was icing on the cake, but win or lose, the chance to suit up was something worth cherishing.

“It was just a blessing to get to play the game one more time,” Knox said. “I had a great time.”

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 11:56 PM with the headline "Team Alabama outslugs Team Georgia in All-Star baseball game."