Sheffield's super slugger

Dylan Boston had some specific goals as he began baseball season.

In fact, he wrote down those goals and looked at them before every game as incentive.

Sheffield's slugging sophomore wanted to have a .450 batting average and hit 10 home runs - pretty lofty goals for any high school player.

"I wanted to set my goals high," Boston said. "I felt like I was capable of hitting that well, but the main thing I wanted to do was to help my team win."

Boston easily surpassed his goals. He finished with a .553 average, belted 12 home runs, 24 doubles and had 70 RBIs.

Those numbers earned him a spot on the all-state team and he was named Class 3A Hitter of the Year.

Boston has added to his collection of honors by being named the TimesDaily Class 1A-3A Player of the Year.

Lexington coach Rickie Putman, who led the Golden Bears to the Class 2A championship series, is the TimesDaily Class 1A-3A Coach of the Year.

Sheffield coach Jason Fuller said no matter how good his statistics are, Boston is never satisfied.

"He went 0-for-4 one night this summer and stayed to hit for over an hour after the game," Fuller said. "Dylan is just such a competitor. We talk about every at-bat being a fistfight, and that's the way he approaches it.

"It's amazing that he put up the numbers he did this year. He was intentionally walked 17 times, including once with the bases loaded. When he had an opportunity to drive he runs he made teams pay. But the best thing about Dylan is that he will do anything he can to help the team."

Boston, who played first and third base as well as catcher, is quick to give credit to his coach and Sheffield teammates.

"Coach Fuller works us hard, but he has made me such a better hitter," Boston said. "We worked a lot on going the other way, and I hit four or five home runs to the opposite field this year. My teammates also did a great job hitting in front and behind me. I didn't mind taking a walk because I knew they would drive me home."

With two years remaining in high school, Boston is not about to rest on his laurels. He is working hard this summer to improve his game.

"I would love to get drafted someday - that's my ultimate goal," he said. " I would also love to play college baseball at a program like Alabama or LSU. I'm going to keep working hard to be the best player I can be."

Like Boston, Putman also earned state honors as Class 2A Coach of the Year. For Putman, however, being named coach of the year in this area is a special honor.

"It's a huge honor for me because of the cailber of baseball coaches in our area," he said. "There are no easy wins around here. We are really blessed to have so many outstanding coaches in this area."

Putman guided a team with no real superstar to the state finals.

The Golden Bears got on a roll in the playoffs and just kept finding a way to win.

"It was really amazing," Putman said. "It was a case of having good leadership from our four seniors, and everybody buying into the team concept and accepting their role.

"We got hot at the right time. We started winning the close games and then we started expecting to win. It was somebody different every game that stepped up for us. Everybody we put out there contributed."

The Golden Bears batted just .272 as a team, but learned to win games with pitching and sound defense.

"Coach (Randy) Ratliff did a great job with our pitchers," Putman said. "We used five pitchers in the playoffs and all were effective. Pitching and good team defense were definitely the keys for us."

Putman recorded a rare double this year in winning coach of the year in football and baseball. He said his success this year was all about having great kids.

"I'm just fortunate to have great assistant coaches and players," he said. "It was special for me because I played sports with many of these kids fathers or went to school with their moms. The parents allowed us to work the kids hard and the boys wanted to be successful. It was a very special year."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@Timesdaily.com.

Class 1A-3A

C - Nick Flanagan, Sr. Colbert County - Batted .526 with 12 HRs and 53 RBIs

IF - Dylan Boston, So., Sheffield - Class 3A Hitter of the year, batted .553, 12 HRs, 24 doubles and 70 RBIs

IF - Justin Dawson, Sr., Colbert County - First-team Class 3A all-state; batted .526, 12 HRs and 53 RBIs

IF - C.K. Irby, Jr., Mars Hill, Batted .452 with 47 RBIs; also 7-2 record as pitcher

IF - Jordan Abrams, Sr., Mars Hill - Harding signee, batted .483 with 42 RBIs

OF - Caleb Hatton, Sr., Hatton - Batted .410, 5 HRs, 27 RBIs and scored 39 runs

OF - Clay Malone, Sr., Cherokee - Batted .526, 21 RBIs and 11 stolen bases

OF - Chad Palmer, Jr., Waterloo - Led Cougars with .446 average, 7 HRs. 24 RBIs

DH - Brent Townsend, Jr., Vina - Batted .467 with 32 RBIs and 33 stolen bases

Utility - Nathan Butler, Sr., Lexington - First team Class 2A All-State; 9-4 record, 3.68 ERA. Also batted .371 with 29 RBIs.

P - Brady Gregory, Sr., Sheffield - 11-2 record, 1.74 ERA, 133 strikeouts in 80 2/3 innings

P - Justin Anglin, Sr., Hamilton - 8-1 record, 1.45 ERA, 108 strikeouts in 65 innings

P - Blake Beck, Sr., Hamilton - 11-3 record, 3.27 ERA, 98 strikeouts in 88 innings

P - Kenny Ratliff, Jr., Lexington - 5-5 record, five saves, 2.86 ERA, 87 strikeouts in 71 innings

Honorable Mention

Catcher - Jason Leggitt, Hackleburg; Jacob Shiflet, Hamilton; Hunter Roberson, Lexington; Charlie Kelley, Shoals Christian; Cass White, Vina

Infield - Cody Berryman, Cherokee; Tyler Fountain, Cherokee; Cody Vandiver, Colbert Heights; Alex Thompson, Covenant Christian; Chris Holcombe, Hamilton; Tevin Terrell, Hatton; Darren Hand, Hatton; Chase Martin, Hatton; Jacob Newton, Lauderdale County; Collin Peek, Lauderdale County; Evan Jackson, Lexington; Ryan Holderfield, Lexington; Logan Thompson, Lexington; Jordan Benford, Phil Campbell; Thomas Lindsey, Sheffield; Austin Evans, Sheffield; Taylor Brackin, Shoals Christian; Channing Haithcock, Vina; Johnathan Word, Waterloo; Paulie Mercier, Waterloo; Will McFall, Waterloo

Outfield - Trae Sloan, Hamilton; Mitchem Smith, Lexington; Bradley Kelley, Waterloo

Pitchers - Brian Davenport, Colbert County; Dustin Fisher, Colbert County; Mark Vanhorn, Mars Hill; Micah Johnson, Hatton; Clint Frederick, Hackleburg; Jordan Shaffer, Hackleburg; Matt Wilson, Phillips.