Redemption complete: Alabama Rawdogs overcome past heartbreak to win Babe Ruth World Series

Thursday night’s 18U Babe Ruth World Series Championship game was a long-awaited one for the Alabama Rawdogs.

After falling to the Southeast Tropics in the 2023 title game and facing ridicule for an infamous age-limit dispute, the Rawdogs coasted to a world championship behind a 1-0 victory over Kelso (WA) at Capaha Park.

Alabama pitcher Will Thomas was the tale of the tape in the big game, as the young righty punched out seven batters and allowed just one hit in 6.1 innings behind a magnificent night on the mound.

Even though Thomas did not compete with the Rawdogs in the tournament last season, he said that the team has been dialed in on righting a wrong ever since they came up short 365 days ago.

“This is my first season with them, but going into this summer, I knew that they had a mission, and I bought into that,” Thomas said. “And when you buy into a team, you buy into their mission.”

Mission accomplished.

Center fielder Nolan Phillips broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double in the second and the Rawdogs, held scoreless in the final five innings by Kelso pitcher Noah Newton, finished the tournament with a flawless 7-0 mark over the past week.

Standout second baseman Joseph Stevens, who went one-for-three in the championship game, posted a tournament-best .650 batting average and was given the Most Outstanding Player Award.

“It was just all about staying relaxed,” said Stevens, who will be attending Coastal Alabama Community College – South in the fall. “I’ve just trusted in my coaches and what they’ve taught me because what we practice will translate to the game.”

In his 25th season coaching baseball, 60-year-old manager Tony Hendrix helped purge some painful memories for Alabama Rawdog fans, who watched as their team came agonizingly close to the 2023 crown, losing six starters to aforementioned age limit violations and needing late-game heroics before falling to the Tropics, 3-2.

“These guys were good all year long, played hard, checked all the boxes, and just did the right things,” Hendrix said. “I think it’s just what happened to us last year, it was our goal to get back. We started right when we got home last year, got to work, talked about it, and just executed what we planned.”

The plan was a twelfth world title in the trophy case back home in Irvington, Alabama.

Ten hours after inching past the defending champion Southeast Tropics, 5-4, in the semifinal round, the Rawdogs finished off an utterly dominant stretch by outlasting Kelso in a 1-0 pitcher dual.

The victory was a shadow of Alabama’s 14-0 route over Kelso on Tuesday in the Pool C game. The Rawdogs outscored their opponents 62-10 prior to their semifinal game on Thursday morning.

“Sometimes you get a team who doesn’t deserve to win,” Hendrix said. “This team deserved to win.”