Henderson 9U All-Stars compete at World Series
Published 6:42 pm Monday, July 21, 2025
TEXARKANA, Ark. — The Henderson 9U All-Stars battled through three days and five games at the Diamond Youth Baseball Regional World Series and ended with a 5-4 loss to Montgomery, Alabama on Saturday afternoon.
The final game was a heartbreaker as they watched a 4-2 lead slip away in the bottom of the fifth. A well-hit double by Montgomery’s John Phillips drove in two runs for the walk-off. Henderson had played solidly all game, scoring first, breaking a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning and adding another run in the top of the fifth for insurance, but in the end Montgomery’s hitting proved the difference maker.
“It was a good game. That was probably the best hit in the tournament I’ve seen so far,” said Henderson’s head coach Shawn Ishee about that game-winning double. “[Henderson] played phenomenal. They fought hard the whole tournament. That Alabama team was a state champ and they went shoulder to shoulder with them.”
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Henderson’s tournament began with pool play, Thursday to Friday, where they tied with Troy, Alabama 6-6, fell 7-6 to Spring Hill (Longview), fell 16-0 to Vancleave, Mississippi and fell 3-2 to Concordia, Louisiana. They were fifth seed from their pool playing fourth seed Montgomery for the start of single-elimination bracket play.
By end of day Saturday, there were just four teams left out of the ten 9Us that started: Vancleave, East Montgomery County, Concordia, Louisiana and Independence, Louisiana.
Apart from their tough 16-0 loss to Vancleave on Friday, a game plagued by errors, Henderson made sure every other game came down to a one run difference or a tie. Their first two pool play games saw them battle back from 6-1 and 5-0 deficits and game four had them leading 3-1 before Concordia rallied late.
Ishee praised their resilient performance that he said proved they had deserved their spot in the World Series. Henderson was a late addition to the tournament after other teams had to withdraw, leaving them as a reserve team that got called up just a week before.
“We played some competitive baseball. Winning baseball. Just came up short,” added Ishee. “I love them. It’s a great group of kids. And great coaches—I couldn’t ask no more from [Shadow Sanders] and [Nick Hall].”
Henderson’s roster at the World Series featured Tripp Bowie, Memphis Ash, Logan Jones, Kaiden Lister, Aiden Sanders, Jesse Greene, Johnny Trimmer, Jadarrion Murphy, Gabriel Centers, Judge Lingo and Curtis Gaule. Three other original teammates who contributed to their district championship win and 2-2 state tournament run this season but had to miss the World Series due to schedule conflicts were Grayson Murillo, Kross Rainwater and Brenson Wright.
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Bowie was a standout pitcher for the tournament, going 7.1 innings across three games and totaling 11 strikeouts. He also led at the plate with five hits and three RBI.
“I think I did alright,” said Bowie about his last game. Bowie is an eight-year-old who originally played for the 10U All-Stars and was invited to help fill the 9U roster for the World Series. “And I think my teammates did good as well.”
Jones came in as relief pitcher in three games, totaling four strikeouts in three innings. At the plate, other standouts were Jones with four hits, Ash with two hits and three RBI, Trimmer with two hits and RBI, Gaule with one hit and two RBI and Lingo and Lister with a hit apiece.
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