Tanner Bailey, Gordo seniors close high school careers after AHSAA baseball semis loss
GORDO – About 100 people came onto the field after Gordo baseball's season was extinguished by Mobile Christian with a 2-0 sweep Wednesday night.
The Greenwave trailed 9-0 after two innings of Game 2 and lost 14-1 to complete the sweep. Gordo lost 7-5 in the first game.
But its crowd stayed until the final out, nestled around the outfield and foul line fences to the home plate bleachers after Mobile Christian clinched its trip to the AHSAA Class 4A state championship.
That's what makes Gordo special, South Carolina football signee Tanner Bailey said.,
"That's what we take pride in, the support system, the camaraderie and the bond we have together," said Bailey, a three-time all-state selection in baseball and football. "It's second to none. It's a lot of places I could've grown up in this country and internationally. God placed me here, and I'm really thankful for it. Wins and losses don't really matter."
The senior class has experienced tons of success at Gordo, dating back to when it was in seventh grade. Bailey and pitcher Ben Capps contributed to Gordo baseball's 2017 state championship.
Gordo lost a 3-1 lead in Game 1, trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh. Freshman Jase Neel had a two-run double to tie the game to send the game into extra innings, which Mobile Christian won the next inning.
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"Baseball is just like life," said Gordo's Ben Capps, an Alabama-Huntsville signee, said. "You have ups and downs. We were in a down spot, and we had to figure out a way to get back on top. We figured out a way.
"Just couldn't figure it out at the end. Our whole careers, if we've been down we've fought our way to the very end. And there wasn't any reason to stop today."
The senior class reached the 2020 football state championship game in Gordo's first year in 4A in program history. It also reached the baseball semifinals in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
"I know I left everything out on the field," said Gordo catcher Lawson Neel, a Shelton State commitment. "Friendships, it's not even really friendships. It's a brotherhood down there. In football we break it down on, 'Greenwave on three. Brotherhood on six.' It's different down here. It's hard to let go a little bit."
Jerell Rushin is a recruiting reporter for the Tuscaloosa News and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jrushin@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: AHSAA baseball: Tanner Bailey, Gordo seniors close HS careers in semis
