Contributed Photo The 10 year old Division “A” tournament was held in Fort Oglethorpe, beginning June 8.  The host was LFORA – Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe Recreation Authority. The Valdosta All Stars were coached by Carl Rose, Charles “Bucky” Perry, Charles McCann and Mike Lawson. Playing on the team were Jude Ard, Dylan Collins, Brad Driggers, Wyatt Fender, Cameron Gill, Preston Joye, Dilan Lawson, Cory McCann, Curt McDonell, Mac Perry, CJ Rose and Colby Thomas.

VALDOSTA — Recently, three youth baseball teams from the Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority finished among the top teams at Dizzy Dean Baseball state tournaments.

Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation teams finished second at the 10-year-old A and B state tournaments in Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, while the 12-year-old team finished third in its tournament in Carrollton.

The 10-year-old A and 12-year-old A teams have qualified for the Dizzy Dean Baseball World Series, which begins on Friday in Southaven, Miss.

10-year-old A team takes 2nd

The 10-year-old A team from Valdosta made it to the finals of the state tournament before falling to the host team from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.

Valdosta started strong, defeating Dade County 14-4 in five innings in its first game. The next day, Valdosta defeated Winston 7-5, and beat Wills Parks 17-5 a day later. Last Tuesday, Valdosta defeated Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 12-2 in five innings, and earned a spot in the tournament finals.

The Valdosta team was scheduled to face Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe in the finals on Thursday night, but heavy rains postponed the game until Friday night.

Valdosta built a 5-1 lead, but Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe tied the game with a grand slam in the top of the sixth, and sent the game into extra innings. The LFORA team scored two runs in the seventh inning, and won 7-5. Because it was Valdosta’s first loss of the tournament, the two teams played another game to decide the state champion.

The Valdosta All-Stars led the final game 3-2 going into the top of the sixth, but for the second straight game, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe tied the score with a home run. The game went into extra innings again.

Unfortunately, in the bottom of the seventh, it was determined that the Valdosta pitcher had thrown too many innings, and the VLPRA team had to forfeit the game. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe was declared the champion, and Valdosta was given second place.

The members of the team are: Jude Ard, Dylan Collins, Brad Driggers, Wyatt Fender, Cameron Gill, Preston Joye, Dilan Lawson, Cory McCann, Curt McDonell, Mac Perry, C.J. Rose and Colby Thomas. Carl Rose is the head coach and Charles “Bucky” Perry and Mike Lawson are the assistant coaches.

 

12-year olds finish third

The 12-year-old team from Valdosta went 5-2 in the state tournament, scored 105 runs in seven games (an average of 15 runs per game) and finished third.

In its opening game, the Valdosta All-Stars routed the Druid Hills Thunder 19-0. Tayte Barry hit two home runs, and Dayton Hall, Brandon Hamilton and Luke Ard also homered. Wesley Veal went 3 for 3 and Dylan Alexander was 2 for 2.

Valdosta lost its next game 6-5 to the Rome Venom, the defending state champions. Hall pitched three scoreless innings, and was 2 for 4 at the plate with a long home run.

Valdosta bounced back with a 13-3 win over Sandy Springs. Jack Bird hit two home runs, and Barry and Hamilton also homered.

Then Valdosta thumped the Hobgood Heat 15-0. Hall homered twice and Ard also hit a home run. Hamilton and Veal had two hits apiece.

In its next game, Valdosta won a shootout with Cedartown, 22-18. Valdosta built a 15-5 lead, but Cedartown rallied to tie the score in the sixth. Valdosta answered with six runs in the seventh to take the lead for good. Tyler Richards went 5 for 5 with a home run. Alexander and Barry also homered.

Valdosta then hammered Lafayette 23-0 in a game that was called after three innings. Valdosta exploded for 15 runs in the second inning. Richards homered and Alex Johnson was 3 for 3.

Valdosta’s tournament run ended with a 10-8 loss to the Acworth Orange. Hall and Hamilton hit home runs, Veal was 3 for 3 and Richards was 2 for 3 in the loss.

The Valdosta players were: Dylan Alexander, Luke Ard, Tayte Barry, Jack Bird, Dayton Hall, Brandon Hamilton, Alex Johnson, Tyler Richards, Trevor Terry, Will Tolbert and Wesley Veal. The team was coached by Johnny Ard, David Barry, Stevie Hall and Wayne Veal.

10-year-old B team takes second

The Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority team made it to the finals of the 10-year-old B state tournament in Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, before finishing second.

Valdosta began the tournament with a 15-8 victory over Powder Springs, but lost its second game 8-6 to the South Cherokee Recreation Association.

Valdosta won its third game in dramatic fashion against Murray County, 8-7. Valdosta was down to its final out, but Jaharie Davis hit a two-run triple to score Dalton Stephens and Duncan Lutz. Then with the bases loaded, Dylan Metts singled in the winning run.

In its next game, Valdosta scored five runs in the fourth inning to erase a 3-0 deficit, and went on to win 6-3 over Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe. Valdosta then routed the East Side Rage 11-1. Colton Shaw hit his first-ever home run in the win.

Valdosta faced South Cherokee again in its next game, and won the rematch 8-7. Trailing by one run in the final inning, Valdosta loaded the bases, then Shaw delivered the game-winning single, scoring Nick Carter and Avery Stephens. Shaw homered for the second consecutive game, and drove in five runs.

The loser’s bracket championship game against Boundary Waters went into extra innings tied 3-3. Valdosta scored a run in the top of the seventh, but Boundary Waters answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning. But Valdosta scored four runs in the top of the eighth, earned an 8-4 win and advanced to the championship game.

Unfortunately, at that point, the Valdosta team had used up all of its pitching (Dizzy Dean Baseball has rules for the number of innings pitchers are allowed to throw in a certain period of time). So the team was forced to forfeit the championship game to the East Side Thunder.

For Valdosta, Dalton Stephens did not allow a run in nine innings, while Lutz gave up just one run in 10 innings. At the plate, Avery Stephens batted .636, Shaw hit .423 with two home runs, Boone batted .409 and Lutz hit .400. All but two players batted above .290, and all but one had an on-base percentage of .500 or better.

The team’s players were: Nick Carter, John Mark Dawson, Easton Willis, Colton Shaw, Dalton Stephens, Trevor Green, Hunter Peagler, Avery Stephens, Jaharie Boone, Duncan Lutz and Dylan Metts. Bobby Willis, Scott Willis and Chris Stephens were the coaches.

The 10- and 12-year-old A teams are in the process of raising money to go to the Dizzy Dean World Series. If you are interested in helping sponsor either team, please contact Carly Thomas at dds4children@gmail.com.