WS: Texas All-Stars out to leave their mark
For the first time in the history of Center a 13-year old boys team will be headed to the coveted youth World Series. And this squad of 13-year olds hopes to leave a lasting impression.
The Center Junior Dixie All-Stars will be known as the Texas All-Stars and are on their way to Dothan, Alabama, today to prepare for Saturday's opening round of the 2010 Junior Dixie Boys World Series. The team will participate in a pretournament meal with the other 11 squads on Friday evening at 5 p.m. before the opening ceremonies take place at 6 p.m. at the Rotary Miracle Complex in Westgate Park.
All the hype will come to an end on Saturday when the squads begin play in the double-elimination tournament. Texas (Center) will open play against North Carolina (Hope Mills) at 1 p.m. at Hardy Field, while Florida (West Seminole) and Louisiana (Bossier City) will square off on Brewton Field at the same time.
Other first-round matchups Saturday include Tennessee (Loretto) taking on Mississippi (Petal) on Hardy Field and Virginia (Halifax County) meeting Georgia (Troup County) on Brewton Field in 4 p.m. starts, and Arkansas (Texarkana) will battle South Carolina (Surfside Beach) on Hardy Field and Alabama (Troy) will tackle host Dothan on Brewton Field in identical 7 p.m. starts.
The national tourney, which will run through Wednesday, will continue on Sunday with its first elimination games beginning at 1 p.m. If Texas wins, the all-stars will take on the winner of Saturday's Florida/Louisiana matchup at 4 p.m. on Brewton Field. If Texas loses its opening game, it will take on the loser of the Florida/Louisiana matchup in an elimination game Sunday at 1 p.m. on Hardy Field.
All the Texas games will be streamed live on the internet at www.jockjive.com. Admission charges for the event are $5 per adult each session and $20 for the tournament and students ages 6-16 be admitted to each session for $3 and $12 for a tournament pass. Ages 5 and under are admitted free.
Members of the Texas squad include Gage Raines, Tanner Murdock, Taylor Tomlin, Colton McSwain, C.J. Garner, Caiden Rainbolt, Alec Lucas, Dalton Horton, Josh Burns, Adam Reeves, Kamden Owens and Eric Vaughn. The squad is coached by Bob Reeves. He is assisted by Paul Horton and Roscoe McSwain.
Reeves said because the team has never been involved in this kind of tournament, he feels that normalcy and routine is the best way to keep the players from being too 'keyed up'.
"The kids are excited beyond belief," Reeves said Tuesday. "We're trying to downplay the situation to the boys. We're not saying to them it's just a fun trip because we're in this to win it.
"We feel like our boys can win it and we want them to have a great time, but we're also going down there to compete and to play hard to win. We feel like if they play like they did at the State Tournament, we'll play to win the thing. And they've been working hard and getting ready to see if we can do exactly that.
"We're trying to get them into a routine as soon as possible and that's why we're going down there on Wednesday. This way they'll have a chance to get used to the place and to get a workout in down there. We want them to be able to relax on Friday and have some designated time that they can spend with their families, but also have time when they have down time to get ready to play."
Reeves said the coaching staff has stressed to the players that they'll be up against the nation's best, but that each team is in the same situation.
"They're all the same age and they'll all be in the same situation as we are," Reeves added. "Except for the host team, they'll all be traveling and trying to get ready to play, but we have to remember that we'll be competing against the 11 best teams in the nation.
"But our kids did a great job at the State Tournament and we expect them to continue that play in the World Series. We're going prepare to our strengths and do what we do best. We want good solid defense and good pitching; and we feel we can hit the ball pretty well."
In the state tournament in Center, the all-stars averaged 13.2 runs and 14 hits per contest as they posted an unbeaten 5-0 mark. They defeated Sulphur Springs, 11-1, Tyler County, 12-7, Hallsville, 14-8, Longview, 17-9 and Paris, 12-0, to take the title in Texas.
TEAMS INVOLVED/HOMETOWN
Texas - Center, Tx.
Host - Dothan, Ala.
Alabama - Troy, Ala.
Arkansas - Texarkana, Ark.
Georgia - Troup County, Ga.
Florida - West Seminole, Fla.
Louisiana - Bossier City, La.
Mississippi - Petal, Miss.
North Carolina - Hope Mills, NC
South Carolina - Surfside Beach, SC
Tennessee - Loretto, Tenn.
Virginia - Halifax County, Va.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, July 31
Gm 1: Texas (Center) vs. North Carolina (Hardy Field), 1 p.m.
Gm 2: Florida vs. Louisiana (Brewton Field), 1 p.m.
Gm 3: Tennessee vs. Mississippi (Hardy Field), 4 p.m.
Gm 4: Virginia vs. Georgia (Brewton Field), 4 p.m.
Gm 5: Arkansas vs. South Carolina (Hardy Field), 7 p.m.
Gm 6: Alabama vs. Dothan, Ala. (Brewton Field), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 1
Gm 7: Texas (Center)/North Carolina loser vs. Florida/Louisiana loser (Hardy Field), 1 p.m.
Gm 8: Tennessee/Mississippi loser vs. Virginia/Georgia loser (Brewton Field), 1 p.m.
Gm 9: Arkanas/South Carolina loser vs. Alabama/Dothan loser (Hardy field), 4 p.m.
Gm 10: Texas (Center)/North Carolina winner vs. Florida/Louisiana winner (Brewton Field), 4 p.m.
Gm 11: Tennessee/Mississippi winner vs. Virginia/George winner (Brewton Field), 7 p.m.
Gm 12: Arkansas/South Carolina winner vs. Alabama/Dothan, Ala. winner (Hardy Field), 7 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 2
Gm 13: Losers' Bracket game (Hardy Field), 10 a.m.
Gm 14: Losers' Bracket game (Brewton Field), 10 a.m.
Gm 15: Losers' Bracket game (Hardy Field), 1 p.m.
Gm 16: Winners' Bracket game (Brewton Field), 1 p.m.
Gm 17: Losers' Bracket game (Hardy Field), 5 p.m.
Gm 18: Loser's Bracket game (Brewton Field), 7 p.m.
Gm 19: Winners' Bracket game (Hardy Field), 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 3
Gm 20: Losers' Bracket game (Hardy Field), 5 p.m.
Gm 21: Winners' Bracket game (Hardy Field), 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 4
Championship Round
Gm 22 at Hardy Field, 5 p.m.
Gm 23 (if necessary) at Hardy Field, after Game 22.
TEXAS JUNIOR DIXIE
BOYS ALL-STAR ROSTER
2 - Gage Raines
3 - Tanner Murdock
7 - Taylor Tomlin
8 - Colton McSwain
9 - C.J. Garner
11 - Caiden Rainbolt
15 - Alec Lucas
17 - Dalton Horton
21 - Josh Burns
26 - Adam Reeves
34 - Kamden Owens
55 - Eric Vaughn
Head Coach: Bob Reeves
Asst. Coach: Paul Horton
Asst. Coach: Roscoe McSwain