AUBURN, Alabama—The rain on the Plain soaked the field but not the spirit of the 2012 Dixie Youth AAA (9-10) state champion Fairhope American All-Stars Thursday at Duck Samford Park in Auburn. The District 7 champs won the state title with a 12-3 final over AUM Gold.

Fairhope's AL club went 6-1 overall in the tournament and had to play two and win both on the final day to claim the title and represent Alabama in the Dixie Youth World Series. And they did it the hard way having to play an extra elimination playoff against the only team to defeat them (Dothan) Thursday morning before the 2 p.m., final against AUM. Lightning and rain then forced a three-hour delay during the state title match-up. They also received the Sportsmanship Award.

“They’re just a phenomenal group of kids,” said Fairhope manager Jeremy Morgan. “The camaraderie of these kids is exceptional. It’s unlike any other team I’ve ever seen.”

Fairhope American is set to open up the World Series at 7 p.m. on Aug. 4 against the Florida state champions at 7 p.m. on Aug. 4 in Bartow, Fla., near Tampa.

“When it sunk in is when the (Auburn hosting) commissioner was saying during the awards ceremony, ‘You came here as Fairhope. Now you're leaving as Alabama.’ That's when it sunk in deep. We’re representing a state. It’s unreal.”

AUM, Dothan and Fairhope made it through the fifth round with one-loss each which forced a draw for the championship which went to AUM. Dothan and Fairhope then squared up for the chance to meet AUM in the finals with Fairhope winning 8-5.

Fairhope opened the tournament with two wins (7-5 over Smiths Station and 16-6 over Decatur) then fell to Dothan NL Blue 6-3 Monday night.

They then met up with their feisty Eastern Shore and District 7 rival Spanish Fort —which earned a berth at state by winning the sub-state tournament last week. But Fairhope advanced to round five with a 4-1 win. Spanish Fort finished 3-2 after they advanced to the second round undefeated where they fell to Muscle Shoals. They bounced back with wins over Piedmont and Smith Station before falling to the eventual champions.

District 7 director Barb Stassen said bringing home both the sportsmanship and championship trophies says a lot about the character as well as the skill of the players.

“I am excited to say that the Fairhope American AAA (9-10) team has brought the State championship trophy back to District 7 and Baldwin County for the second consecutive year,” she said. “They followed the success of the Daphne National team last year and won the tournament in a convincing fashion. This is an outstanding group of well coached young ballplayers. Daphne finished at number five last year and I am hoping for an even better finish this year. It won't surprise me if they win the World Series in Bartow, Florida. The team also brought home the Sportsmanship Trophy for the state tournament. I am as proud of the fact they won the Sportsmanship Trophy as I am the first place finish.”

Morgan agreed that the sportsmanship award was well deserved and speaks to the character of the players and others.

“I think that shows not only what great kids we have, but parents and fans and all the people with the City of Fairhope and the league that supported us. I think these kids have good character because they have good role models starting at home and school. And that includes good coaching. There are just so many people to thank. We could not have made it by ourselves but I've got the best coaches in the state in Andy Malone and Kelly Champion. We all try to instill a work-hard, play-hard philosophy in the guys. Don't dwell on mistakes, focus and go forward, rely on each other, pull each other up and never quit.”

He added that they showed a lot of heart and character by battling back after a tough loss. “They pulled it together,” he said. “We got that one loss, but that’s probably the best thing that happened to them. They realized that they were not here playing the scrub teams. They’re here playing real teams. And they pulled it through.”

The big keys he said were defense and pitching, “From sub-district on, we have allowed very few runs. Very disciplined, solid defense from start to finish. Our motto is, 'Never let them on base,' but when it happens they know their jobs and everybody works together to limit the damage. Then we're also blessed with deep pitching. If somebody is off, somebody else will be on. When we left district we were real confident in (a set rotation) who to throw, but —the travel and what-not, I don't know— we struggled more than we had. But we got it back together and today it was Will Stephens, Greyson Hooks and Ethan Mclaughlin (on the mound). But it was also the whole team. And you know you have to remember, they're nine and ten. So for kids that age to stay focused so well through all this and finish with a double-header and rain delay and stay on track, just shows this is a special group. And I think it shows how much they wanted it and I think that's a big reason why we're leaving here as state champions.”

The 2012 state champion players are: Jon Barnard, Jared Champion, Will Edmiston, Greyson Hooks, Seth Kruse, Sam Malone, Micah Morgan, Grant Murray and Ethan Mclaughlin, Parker Owens, Will Stephens and Bronson Sloan.

The City of Fairhope will hold a community congratulatory event at Volanta Park on Wednesday (Aug.1) at 6 p.m. Food will be available for purchase and donations will be accepted at the event. Donations to help the team with travel expenses can also be mailed to FYBL, P.O. Box 1162, Fairhope 36533. For questions or more information, call coach Jeremy Morgan at 251-214-7802.

Hooks tossed a no-hitter going into the fifth inning for Fairhope in the final with four strikeouts, but starting struggling as the rain and

lightning moved in. With two out in the bottom of the fifth, the game was suspended for lightning. Rain forced further delays until the game was restarted about three hours later. McLaughlin then finished up for Fairhope allowing two runs but garnering the four remaining outs needed for the title victory.

Hooks, who came in second in the state-wide home-run derby with 15 homers out of 30 swings, had three RBIs in the final as well. A big three-run second inning to build an early lead before the delay and two four-run rallies in the fifth and sixth after sealed the win.

In the 8-5 semifinal over Dothan, Stephens got the start and went all six innings for Fairhope American and finished with seven strikeouts. Fairhope struck early with four runs in the top of the first inning, but Dothan responded with a pair of runs to make it 4-2 going into the second. Fairhope then simply outscored their opponent 4-3 down the stretch. At the plate Champion went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Morgan drove in a pair of runs with a double.