Dyersburg All-Stars punch ticket to state tournament with back-to-back wins over Halls

After fighting off elimination with a win over Ripley in the District 6 tournament being held at the Ed Wright Complex on Saturday, the 14-year-old Dyersburg All-Stars needed two wins over Halls in order to earn a trip to the state tournament in Dickson.

The local squad fell to the loser's bracket with a loss to Halls on Saturday, 3-2, but stormed back on Sunday with a 14-0 shutout victory to remain alive in the tourney. The Sunday win set up a one-game showdown on Monday night for the right to advance.

Prior to the championship game, Dyersburg manager Kevin Brooks had a stern message for his squad.

"I told the guys that if we're going to lose our last game, don't lose the last one in Dyersburg. We are the host for this tournament and we didn't want to end the season on our own field," said Brooks.

Evidently, the team was listening to every word.

After an offensive explosion by the Dyersburg squad in the first inning, along with five solid innings on the mound from right-hander Dylan Walters, the local squad punched its ticket to the state tournament with a solid, 13-2 victory over Halls to secure a berth at the state tournament beginning July 10 in Dickson.

"They really responded just like we as coaches thought they would," said Brooks. "I think we overlooked them the game they beat us, but tonight we came to play."

In the first inning while already leading 3-0, Dyersburg's Daniel Warren tripled to center field with teammates Alex Franks and Evan Walden aboard to push the advantage to 5-0. Warren scored minutes later on a passed ball as Dyersburg took a commanding 6-0 lead after half an inning.

The Halls squad took advantage of Dyersburg errors in the bottom half of the inning to stay within striking distance, but trailing 6-2 at the end of the inning.

The 4-run cushion was nice, but Dyersburg wasted little time adding to its total with three additional runs in the top of the second.

T.J. Daniels led off the frame with a single to left before Beau Brooks drew a walk. A double steal and two outs later, Franks doubled to center to push both teammates across the plate before scoring on a passed ball to make it 9-2.

On the mound for Dyersburg, Walters was solid through the fifth inning. Though faced with minor jams along the way, fine defensive plays and Walters' right arm proved to be too much for the Halls squad.

For good measure the local squad added four additional runs in the top half of the seventh, highlighted by Beau Brooks' inside-the-park home run. The advantage was more than enough as the Dyersburg squad kept the season alive, winning 13-2.

"I am really proud of these kids, I really am. They played to win and that's all you can ask for," added Brooks. "We knew Halls was going to come to play, but we had our ace in Walters that they really hadn't seen so we felt pretty good about our chances."

Now the squad will begin preparing for a trip to the state tournament to hopefully return as champions.

"We don't know anything about any of the other teams but I'll say this, if we play to our potential we can play with anybody in the state," said Brooks.