SPORTS

Local Neurologist Training for 400-Mile Bike Ride Fundraiser for MS Research Page 26

Thursday, April 8, 2021 ❖ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Young John Carroll Softball Team Sets Sights on a State Title Page 26

STEPPING UP

Wetzler Giving Spartans’ Baseball Team a Lift Just Like He Did in Football

By RuBin E. GRant

Braxton Wetzler is once again enjoying the sounds of spring, especially the crack of the bat.

A year ago, after the Mountain Brook baseball team had gotten off to a 16-2 start, its season was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wetzler was a junior on a squad that had 15 seniors. He felt bad for them when the season was halted.

“It was really tough,” Wetzler said. “At first we didn’t know whether we would play again. The seniors thought we would get back to playing again, then the rest of the season was canceled. That was a huge moment. I was lucky to have another season of baseball, but they weren’t.”

Wetzler, a stocky 6-foot, 235-pound right-handed pitcher and first baseman, is making the most of his final season with the Spartans.

He entered this week with a .378 batting average with seven doubles, three home runs and 23 runs batted in. On the mound, he had a 3-2 record with two saves and a 3.79 earned-run average, while he recorded 28 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings pitched.

“Braxton has done a lot for us, offensively, defensively and on the mound,” Mountain Brook coach Lee Gann said. “But he’s even more fantastic as a person and a leader. He leads by example and does a great job of getting the other players to rally around him.”

Wetzler’s leadership will be needed if the Spartans are to advance to the state playoffs. He is one of only four seniors on the team, joining third baseman Brock Payne, outfielder Tanner Plummer and pitcher Brennan Holden.

After having competed in one of the toughest areas in Class 7A – which included Vestavia Hills,

Braxton Wetzler makes an unassisted double play at first base, tagging out a Chelsea runner after catching a line drive in last weeks game with the Hornets.

See WETZLER, page 27 ‘He’s one of those guys who don’t come around too often, someone with a great personality and will do anything you ask. I’m going to miss Braxton Wetzler.’

LEE GANN MOUNTAIN BROOK COACH

On Senior Night, March 29, he returned to the diamond and stepped back on the mound, pitching a complete game with 10 strikeouts and allowing only one earned run as the Rebels defeated Vincent 13-3.

Special Night

Vestavia Hill’s Windham Pitches Through Pain in Courageous Outing

By RuBin E. GRant

Senior Night for the Vestavia Hills baseball team became more than just a special evening to recognize 16 seniors.

It also was an evening to witness a profile in courage.

Senior right-handed pitcher Alden Windham has been battling a mysterious illness for months, dealing with agonizing pain, first in his legs and then in his back, with his condition confounding doctors and medical specialists alike.

Early this season, a doctor advised Windham to stop playing baseball, but Windham had other ideas. He worked as hard as he could to get himself ready to pitch again.

So on Senior Night, March 29, he returned to the diamond and stepped back on the mound, pitching a complete game with 10 strikeouts and allowing only one earned run as the Rebels defeated Vincent 13-3.

“He threw great, like he’d never missed a beat,” Vestavia Hills coach

Jamie Harris said. “He had been struggling with inflammation, specifically in his back, but he was still sitting at 85-86 mph with his fastball.”

Windham’s remarkable performance could have been his last baseball game. He was in such pain afterward that two days later, on March 31, his mom, Jamie Windham, drove him to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville to seek answers for his ailment.

Early this season, a doctor advised Windham to stop playing baseball, but Windham had other ideas.

Out of the Blue Came Pain

His saga began late in the summer. He had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2019, but he recovered in time to pitch during the 2020 season. Then the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to his junior year.

Windham was preparing for his senior season and had completed his summer throwing program when he started experiencing pain in his legs in August 2020. His body began to ache everywhere.

He was told to rest, go to physical therapy and take steroids, but relief