Batter Up to host ninth ESPN1049/WAW Signing Day Special Wednesday

While the national sports spotlight will shine upon soon-to-be college football players Wednesday, the focus in Marengo County will be a little less narrow. For the ninth consecutive year, Batter Up Sports Grill in Demopolis will open at lunch on National Signing Day for the express purpose of playing host to the ESPN1049 Signing Day Special.

The initiative is the product of a joint effort from ESPN1049, The West Alabama Watchman, and Batter Up Sports Grill and annually welcomes in student-athletes from around Marengo County and the surrounding area that are signing National Letters of Intent.

Unique to the ESPN1049 endeavor is that –as of two years ago – the event is open to all student-athlete signees regardless of sport. In 2016, the event played host to a UAB soccer signee before welcoming Mississippi State and Ole Miss softball signees a year later.

Since its 2010 inception, the Signing Day Show has welcomed athletes who have signed with Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Army, South Alabama, Troy, Jacksonville State, Memphis, UWA, Tuskegee, Miles, Stillman, Faulkner, and numerous other schools.

The event begins at 11 a.m. with Batter Up providing lunch to each signee. The ESPN1049 Signing Day Special goes on air at noon and will feature each student-athlete in attendance. The Jeremy Smith Show will continue the festivities during a live remote from Batter Up at 1 p.m.

The ESPN1049 Coaches Show crew, which founded the event, will present its annual highest honor during the occasion. Each year the crew names one football standout as The Anthony Robinson Player of the Year. The award is named in honor of the late Linden High standout Anthony Robinson Jr., a UWA signee and the original recipient of the Player of the Year Award. Robinson was killed in a car accident Sept. 1, 2013.

The event is open to the public.