By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

Blake Barber and Brian Alder will be teammates once more.

The Troup Tigers’ season ended in the first round of the playoffs with a loss to Perry, ending the prep careers of four seniors, including Barber and Alder.

The two will get to play a few more games together, though, thanks to a Georgia Dugout Club all-star baseball tournament that is going on this week.

Five teams, representing five different geographical regions in the state, will participate in the tournament that began earlier this week in Kennesaw.

The tournament shifts to Statesboro this weekend.

Barber and Alder are playing for the Southwest team which will play four combined games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Troup baseball coach Craig Garner, who is the coordinator for the Southwest team, said there were more than 50 schools to choose players from.

Garner’s responsibility was to put the team together with the help of the coaches.

The Southwest’s team head coach is David Smart of Northside.

Tommy Parks of Harris County is one of the assistants.

“My job is from those two tryouts, and from the teams that just got put out (of the playoffs), to put a roster together,” Garner said. “Then it’s just trying to get all the logistics done, just scrambling trying to get everything in place.”

Alder and Barber helped the Tigers finish second in Region2-AAA.

Alder went 4-3 with a 3.96 earned run average.

Barber, a shortstop and pitcher, had a phenomenal senior season, hitting .374 with four home runs and 23 RBIs as a switch-hitter.

On the mound, Barber had a 3-1 record with a 1.66 ERA and 32 strikeouts.

“He was a kid that can do it all,” Garner said.