Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
The Prattville Lions baseball team has started the 2026 season strong, winning 15 of their first 16 contests. The two most recent wins came over Stanhope Elmore, 10-2, and Pelham, 10-6. It was the Lions’ second win over the Mustangs already this season. Against Pelham, the Lions came back from a 6-0 deficit to claim victory. Through 16 games, the 2026 Lions’ team has scored 143 runs, already topping last year’s team that scored 134 runs through 35 games.
“It’s hard not to ignore the fact that we’ve been able to find production in our offense this year,” said Prattville Head Coach JR Myers. “It’s something we really struggled with last year. When you’re able to score runs, it takes a lot of pressure off our pitchers who have done a really good job of pitching relaxed because they know they’re going to have run support.”
The Lions have a big test ahead of them as the season gets closer to area play, competing in a tough area that includes Thompson, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, and Tuscaloosa County, the defending Class 7A state champions. But Coach Myers thinks his team will compete for the area title when that stretch of the season arrives.
“We’ve stressed all season about not thinking about area play quite yet. After the conclusion of last year, I really wanted our guys to play more loosely and freely. So I’ve made it a point of emphasis to preach playing one pitch at a time. As well as doing the simple things better. We don’t want to do the complicated things better, but we want to do the basic fundamentals better than anything. And I think that helps. Baseball is an extremely hard game, so we’ve even talked about how to breathe better in stressful situations. And I think the guys have embraced those techniques,” said Myers.
Aidan Urnis is leading the Lions with a .538 average, with 12 RBIs and 2 home runs through 10 games played, while Andrew Gustafson has a .500 average through 9 games played. Senior Jackson Dorsett has played all 16 games and is currently batting .413 and is leading the team with 19 RBIs.
Coach Myers has tried to simplify the team goals for the Lions.
“As far as attaining our goals, when our guys can ask themselves if they’ve moved on from pitch one to pitch two without thinking about pitch one, we’ve attained our goals. It seems kind of lame to say that, but it’s all we’ve been working on this year. Not about winning a certain number of games or winning a state championship. I want our guys to win the NEXT pitch. And if they didn’t win the pitch, I want them to win the next one. We get three seconds to feel bad, and then we’re on to the next. And I truly believe collectively, as a team, these guys are winning the next pitch. And I’m so proud of the job they’ve done so far. We got tested yesterday against Pelham. We got down 6-0 and found a way to come back because they believed they were going to win the next pitch. It’s been fun to watch these guys compete each pitch,” said Myers.
