Spain Park athlete named to all-American team.

Spain Park High School student Tyler Wise has been named to the 2014 Power Showcase All-World & All-American Baseball Team. Wise will represent Alabama in both the Home Run Derby and the Babe Ruth Classic featuring 2014 graduates and underclassmen. 

Players were selected based on their high level of character, physical skill-set, academic status, work ethic and desire to overachieve both on the field and in the classroom. 

Wise is a member of Coach Will Smith’s Spain Park Jaguars team and a junior at Spain Park High School, where he maintains a 4.06 GPA. He also played with Coach Josh Beshears’ Excel Blue Sox showcase team in 2013. 

As part of the Home Run Derby event, the players partner with a child from their area who has a life-threatening condition.  Tyler has chosen as his partner eight-year old Gabe Griffin, who lives in Shelby County.  

When Gabe was three, he was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive muscle disease that is terminal.  For every home run that Tyler hits during the event, sponsors have pledged to make a donation to the Hope for Gabe non-profit foundation, which raises funds to support research to find a cure for Duchenne.

 To learn more about Duchenne muscular dystrophy go to hopeforgabe.org.

-Submitted by Martha Wise