(Dustin Snipes/Icon Sportswire)
The “Senior Showdown” of Mobile is making its much-anticipated return to McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, pitting the top high school seniors from both Mobile and Baldwin Counties against each other in an all-star East-West game type format.
The East-West format, which was last played in 2012, was played a total of 69 times and would regularly draw college and
professional scouts.
Mobile is a city with a rich baseball history, and as a part of the event, former major league players born in Mobile will be inducted into the Frank Bolling Ambassadors of Baseball Fraternity.
The Senior Showdown is ran by the Mobile Mobsters, an organization of former players and coaches that fundraises and collects used equipment to support inner-city baseball.
“The showdown, like other athletic events, is about helping young people learn how to succeed in sports and life. We want this to become as much a spring tradition as the East-West games when the Mobile Lions organized them. Sports equipment is expensive, and anything we can do to put more baseball gear in the hands of young players advances the game,” said Mobsters’ co-founder Joe Connick.
Barring playoff obligations, the coaches for both teams are set.
Mike Szymanski, the coach at St. Luke’s Episcopal School, will be coaching the Mobile team while the Baldwin County team will be headed up by the legendary Tommy Walker, now back at Spanish Fort after tenures at both the high school and college level.
The game is scheduled for May 9 at McGill-Toolen’s Lipscomb complete (a.k.a The Lip) with batting practice scheduled for 4-6 P.M., pregame ceremonies for 6:30 P.M. and game time scheduled for 7:00 P.M.
Tickets will be sold at the gate for a cost of $5, but new or slightly used adult baseball equipment as a donation will also be accepted for admission.
For more information, you can email the organization at Mobilemobstersbaseball@gmail.com.
