Class 4A baseball: Westbrook Christian dominates Bibb County to win title

The Westbrook Christian Warriors have ascended to the top of the mountain once again, capturing their second state baseball title in school history and their first championship in five years.

A Dominant Championship Run

The Warriors (28-11) solidified their standing as a championship-caliber program by rolling to a decisive 10-2 victory over Bibb County on Wednesday at Jacksonville State University. Entering the final series as the fifth-ranked team in the Class 4A state poll, Westbrook Christian secured the trophy just 364 days after the school hired head coach Ricky Ray Clayton.

Reflecting on the milestone, the first-year coach noted, “We give the glory to God in everything we do. That’s our story, that’s our year and that’s our foundation. My heart is so full right now because I know we gave every single ounce of what we had this year.”

Tournament MVP Takes Charge

Following a stellar complete-game performance from Gadsden State commit Emmett Daniel in a 13-3 Game 1 victory on Tuesday, tournament MVP Brodie Johnson mirrored that effort to close out the series. Johnson required only 98 pitches—63 of which were strikes—to stifle the opposition in a 6-hitter. He struck out five and allowed only one walk and one hit-batter throughout the complete-game win.

Johnson also proved to be a force at the plate, tallying a double and two singles in the finale to finish the two-game championship series with six total hits. Despite a 107-minute rain delay before the fifth inning, Johnson remained locked in. “I would say it definitely wasn’t my best stuff I’ve had all year because I couldn’t find my slider early in the game,” the Shelton State commit said. “But with the rain delay I got to go throw some more in the bullpen, and I found my slider. From there I felt like I was hitting every spot I needed to hit.”

Final Standings and Key Performances

Westbrook Christian held a 4-2 lead when weather halted play. Bibb County (26-14) had momentum following RBI singles from Grant Burkes and Dylan Kornegay, but Johnson slammed the door upon the restart, retiring the final seven batters he faced to seal the win.

“I’m proud of this team. I thought our guys competed a lot better today,” Bibb County coach Kevin May said. “We just ran out of steam and faced a good team. We got down early and had a hard time getting anything going offensively.”

The Warriors' offense proved relentless, tallying 13 hits in the final game. Brady Ryan and Jacob Maples added two hits apiece to support Johnson’s efforts. Bo Kilgo also provided critical production, driving in the first two runs with a second-inning single before later executing a sacrifice bunt that set up a Brody Blevins RBI hit.

For Bibb County, the result marks a bittersweet end to a strong three-year stretch that has seen the program reach the semifinals once and the championship series twice. Conversely, the victory served as a perfect send-off for nine Westbrook Christian seniors. “This has been a senior-led team,” Clayton said. “Each of these seniors has had their own moments in this team’s success.”