By DANIEL PORTER / Staff Writer

The Chelsea 11-and-under Dizzy Dean All-Stars had a very good season that ended with a strong run in the state tournament.

Chelsea coach David Ingram felt good about his team’s chances in the tournament, saying he thought his team played in one of the toughest regions in the state.

Chelsea opened the state tournament on June 30 against Sardis. After falling behind 6-0 early, Chelsea scored 14 runs in the final three innings to win 14-6.

Ethan Shaw earned the win after coming in and pitching three scoreless innings to finish the game, while Dawson Ingram drove in four runs to spark the comeback victory.

Next, Chelsea faced a familiar foe in Clanton. Again Chelsea fell behind early, 5-0, but scored 15 runs to storm back for the win.

For the second straight game, Shaw picked up the win after coming on in relief and tossing two scoreless innings. Shaw also added a home run on the offensive side. Mason Barnett went 3-for-4 to lead Chelsea at the plate.

The win gave Chelsea a bye, which led them to play Walker County on July 3. This time Chelsea couldn’t pull away after going into the bottom of the seventh tied at 7-7. Chelsea loaded the bases before Carson Alexander came to the plate and hit a two-out shot to left field to win the game.

In the following game against North Chilton, Chelsea couldn’t find their offense and fell 11-0.

Chelsea turned around and played a tough Huffman team. Cody Cooper started on the mound and only gave up three runs in as many innings. Collin Heisler went 2-2 at the plate, but it wasn’t enough to pull ahead of Huffman.

The seventh inning started tied at 3-3 until Huffman hit a solo homer to take the lead. Chelsea was held scoreless in the bottom half of the inning and lost 4-3.

“The kids did a great job competing in the state tournament,” Ingram said. “The third-place finish is a testament to countless hours of hard work they put in to get better.”