There may not be sports currently happening every day but that should not stop us from remembering some of the best moments from the past.
Since sports are a big part of the world and a big part of many people’s lives, we have decided to dedicate this section of the paper to events from the past which happened this week. Instead of dwelling on what events we have missed with the sports shutdown, we want to focus on the memorable moments that have made sports great.
Elmore County — May 3, 2014
It had been more than a decade since Edgewood’s last softball state title. The Wildcats made it to the state tournament six straight years but kept walking away empty handed.
That all changed in 2014 when the Wildcats knocked off Marengo, 6-3, to claim the AISA Class A state championship. Kara Wilson and Kelsey Hartley had RBIs in the first inning and Edgewood never looked back.
“It’s amazing, it’s well-deserved for my girls,” Edgewood coach Fawn Sims said at the time. “They worked very hard for me this year, and for each other. They wanted it from day one, it started a year ago. I’m very proud of them.”
Hannahlee Harris was selected to the all-tournament team after leading the Wildcats at the plate, recording six hits and accounting for five runs in the final two games.
State — May 1, 2015
When there are four minor league baseball teams in one state, there is a decent chance baseball fans get to see some top-level talent before they enter their prime. Those in Montgomery got to see that first hand when the Tampa Bay Rays organization had more than a few highly ranked prospects.
Blake Snell was a first-round draft pick for the Rays and he quickly showed he would live up to the hype. He made it to Double-A when he was 22 and in his debut with the Biscuits, he tossed six innings of one-hit, shutout ball to earn the win in an 11-1 victory over the Mississippi Braves.
Snell struck out eight and walked one, needing just 92 pitches to shut down the Braves. The Biscuits held a 9-0 lead after six innings and once Snell lost his no-hitter, he was pulled to save pitch count in his Double-A debut.
Snell made it to the big leagues in 2016 and he has posted a 3.24 ERA in 506 innings. He won the 2019 American League Cy Young Award with a 21-5 record and league-low 1.89 ERA.
National — May 1, 2004
Barry Bonds was known for what he did swinging the bat more than anything else but he set plenty of records with the bat sitting on his shoulder too. After setting records with his home runs, Bonds racked up an unprecedented number of walks in his final season.
During a 6-3 win against the Florida Marlins, Bonds was intentionally walked four times in one game, setting a new single-game MLB record. It happened to Bonds four more times during the 2004 season and he finished the year with a record 232 walks. Bonds now holds the all-time record with 2,558 free passes in his career.