Monster start
- Updated: June 27, 2025
Rain cools Choccolocco Monsters with a 3-1 leads Friday, but Brooks’ power, strong pitching and defense have helped to key 11-2 start.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD — Only a lightning show and field-drenching downpour could cool the Choccolocco Monsters on Friday.
Choccolocco Park’s lightning alarms rang out in the middle of the seventh inning, with the Monsters leading the Atlanta Crackers 3-1.
The defending Sunbelt League champions began and finished the night at 11-2, including a nine-game winning streak, and leading the league by five games, according to Monsters general manager Roby Brooks.
It’s hard to know for sure, because the hit-or-miss Sunbelt League Website still has the Monsters at 2-1, with their last known result a doubleheader split with the Alpharetta Aviators on May 31.
Second-year coach Ricky Ray Clayton and his players know the rest of the story.
“We’ve just got a very good group,” he said. “They play the game the right way.
“It’s just a really good team. When I say team, I’m not talking about, we’re just loaded. We have very good players, but they play well and love playing this game as a team.”
One of the biggest Monsters storylines this season involves former Oxford High standout R.J. Brooks’ power surge. His four home runs have come after hitting sessions former Cherokee County and Jacksonville State star Coty Blanchard.
“I went and hit with Coty as soon as I got back from the break,” Brooks said. “I feel like this is one of my most comfortable stances.
“He’s always at Top Gun and always helping me out. I text him a lot. He’s my guy. Whenever I’m struggling, I text him, and he’ll come down and hit with me at Top Gun. He’ll fix me mentally and physically.”
Brooks’ technique tweaks, explains simply, involve staying on his back leg.
“The only time I’ve gotten in trouble this season is when I come out of my back leg,” be said. “That can cause a lot of bad things for me. It can cause a bad bat path. It can cause me to chase pitches.”
Brooks hasn’t just hit four homers this season. They’ve come in big moments.
“All four of them have been in big situations,” Clayton said. “We’ve had some clutch hitting, and R.J. is really hot right now.”
Clayton said several Monsters have had hot streaks at the plate, with former Oxford standout Peyton Watts heating up most recently.
Clayton cited strong pitching and “a really spectacular defense” as the biggest keys to the Monsters’ big start. Burton Hahn held the Crackers to three hits with six strikeouts through seven innings Friday.
“I feel like our foundation is really strong, because I feel like we’re all on the same page, playing for God,” Clayton said. “I feel like we’re all on the page together, and we can do everything through Him.”
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