Strong pitching highlights Georgia-Alabama All-Star game rosters

The fourth annual Georgia-Alabama All-Star game is being played at Burger King Stadium at Columbus State at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Thirty-five total area players will participate in the game, 12 on the Alabama side and 23 from Georgia.

Four players from Glenwood, three from Central and five from Smiths Station will play on the Alabama team, in addition to five from Opelika and five from Auburn.

Every player on the Georgia team is from an area team, including five from Columbus, two from Hardaway, three from Brookstone, five from Northside, one from Calvary Christian, two from Shaw and five from Harris County.

Pitching will be a strength on both teams. Max Newton (Smiths Station), Trent Hollingsworth (Smiths Station), Noah Wilkes (Central), Carson Hicks (Glenwood) and Tyler Cadenhead (Glenwood), among others, will lead the Alabama group.

All five of those pitchers recorded ERAs under 2.00 this season.

Georgia will feature Cason Greathouse (Columbus), Culver Norred (Brookstone), Drew Haywood (Northside), Jalen Latta (Northside), Sam Kyte (Northside) and Carson Powell (Harris County), among others.

Greathouse was the All-Bi-City pitcher of the year, and each of the others, including the trio from Northside, had elite success throughout the season. Haywood and Norred were first-team All-Bi-City players, while Latta and Kyte were both honorable mention.

More than anything, coaches are excited for their players’ opportunities to play one more game at the high school level.

“It’s a great night of baseball,” Northside coach Dee Miller said. “Columbus State puts on a great deal. It brings your all-stars from everywhere around here and lets them play against the best of the best. It’s a lot of fun.”

“It puts the finishing touchdws on a stellar high school career for each of them,” Brookstone coach Vince Massey said. “As a coach, it makes me a proud papa. They’ve earned it all.”

Batting practice and infield precedes the game, and admission is $5. Children under 12 years old will be admitted free.

This story was originally published June 7, 2016 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Strong pitching highlights Georgia-Alabama All-Star game rosters."