The 2018 All-Bi-City Large School Baseball team is set. See who made the squad.

The high school baseball scene around Columbus did not disappoint in 2018. Now that the dust has settled after another season, it’s time to look at which players stood out with the latest All-Bi-City Large School Baseball Team.

The Russell County Warriors drew national attention with a strong spring that featured 39 victories and a spot in the Class 6A quarterfinals. Given their success on the diamond, it’s no surprise that Warriors took home two of the All-Bi-City’s biggest honors.

Sophomore Logan Austin did a little bit of everything for the Warriors and took home the Player of the Year honors. The Auburn commit was one of the hardest outs in the area in 2018, posting a .309 batting average with a home run and 24 RBIs at the plate.

When Austin wasn’t playing third base or shortstop for Russell County, he was dazzling as the No. 2 pitcher in the team’s rotation, where he threw 76.2 innings, posted a 10-1 record, notched 139 strikeouts and ended up with a 1.28 ERA.

In Austin’s mind, the resurgence for the entire Russell County team began in the weight room.

“(The season) was pretty good. We just tried to get bigger and stronger in the weight room,” Austin said. “It really helped us a lot. Everybody got stronger, so everyone had more of a pop in their bats and got more (velocity) on the mound. That really helped us come through.”

Austin was the second man of Russell County’s one-two pitching punch also featuring senior Hunter Milam, who is the All-Bi-City Pitcher of the Year. The Memphis commit was once again a hitter’s worst nightmare, as the left-hander pitched 73.2 innings with a 10-1 record, 135 strikeouts and a 1.33 ERA.

Milam’s favorite moment of his senior season came in the opening game of Russell County’s first round series with Daphne. Holding a one-run lead but facing a full count with the bases loaded, Milam delivered a devastating curveball that the opposing batter haplessly took a hack at. The result was a game-sealing strikeout.

“It’s about competing and having a bulldog mentality on the mound, really,” said Milam, who was drafted in the 22nd round by the Los Angeles Angels in this year’s draft. “Every batter and every game, you have to take it like it’s the last.”

Back over the border in Georgia, Shaw catcher Alex Marquand’s bat played a pivotal role for a revived Shaw squad and earned the senior Hitter of the Year. The Georgia Highlands commit collected 42 hits, a .477 batting average, nine home runs and 37 RBIs on a Shaw team that made the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Marquand pointed to the team’s Game 3 victory over Cairo in the region tournament — a win that sealed a spot at state — as the defining moment of his last year as a Raider.

“It’s something we can hold onto forever, being that we were the first team to break that streak. It’s something, even off the field, all the teammates can hold onto as a memory,” Marquand said. “I just hope when I move on to the next level I can keep experiencing that.”

Along with Marquand, Shaw head coach Pat McGregor received All-Bi-City Coach of the Year. McGregor’s Raiders were on the brink of a playoff spot in 2017 before falling to Cairo. After a offseason full of adversity, the team came back even stronger and ultimately made the most of a second shot at the Syrupmakers.

“It was our best year in about a decade. That was something that before the season, our guys who returned and our coaching staff sat down and said (making the state tournament) was something that we wanted to put as a goal,” McGregor said. “This group of kids, they really came together over the last year for a lot of different reasons. They committed to us as coaches, and we committed to them. We put in a lot of work through the offseason.”

Player of the Year

Logan Austin, Russell County

Pitcher of the Year

Hunter Milam, Russell County

Hitter of the Year

Alex Marquand, Shaw

Coach of the Year

Pat McGregor, Shaw

First Team

P - Jerry Dale Bowman, Smiths Station

P - Trent Grantham, Columbus

C - Zane Faulk, Russell County

1B - Jackson Huguley, Russell County

2B - Timmy Brooks, Harris County

3B - Hunter Duke, Hardaway

SS - Hunter Donaldson, Russell County

OF - Robbie Tillman, Columbus

OF - Justin Owens, Smiths Station

OF - Slade Gorman, Central

OF - Jason Whearley, Harris County

OF - Kaleb Podger, Shaw

UTIL - Jonathan Brand, Columbus

UTIL - Spencer Chandler, Northside

UTIL - Jonathan Manibusan, Hardaway

Second Team

P - Zach Johnson, Central

P - Kobe Van Bogart, Russell County

P - Clay Weatherly, Smiths Station

C - Ben Schorr, Columbus

1B - Tristan Driver, Hardaway

2B - Tray Richburg, Northside

3B - Trent Swinehart, Columbus

SS - Zack Foster, Columbus

OF - Zac Rice, Russell County

OF - Kevin Henry, Hardaway

OF - Ross McKibben, Harris County

OF - Mack Williams, Northside

UTIL - Dajon Davis, Carver

UTIL - Brandon Willoughby, Harris County

UTIL - Colton Joyner, Northside

Honorable Mention

Central - Alex Baker, Mason Davis, Jay Kehoe, Andrew Valero; Hardaway - Kendall Butler, Robert McDaniel, Jordan Parker; Harris County - Noah Lee; Northside - Waggener Davidson, Connor O'Neal, Hunter Poe; Russell County - Austin Embrey, Trysten Dozier, Zack Henderson, Joseph Wade; Shaw - Owen Lakeman, Brian Trepanier; Smiths Station - Tyler Byrd, Carter Duke, Sterling Evilsizer, Dalton Gunter

This story was originally published June 15, 2018 at 3:30 PM with the headline "The 2018 All-Bi-City Large School Baseball team is set. See who made the squad.."