Aside from some inclement weather that pushed back the conclusion of Friday’s games nearly three and a half hours, the Dizzy Dean South Georgia State Baseball and Georgia State Softball Tournaments went off without a hitch this weekend at Freedom Park.

Twenty-seven baseball and softball teams traveled to Valdosta in the hopes of punching a ticket to the Dizzy Dean World Series in Southaven, Mississippi next month.

After three days and 45 games, six teams were invited to represent their state in the Dizzy Dean World Series.

The Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority hosted the 7-year-old, 8-year-old and 10-year-old divisions of the baseball South Georgia State Tournament at Freedom Park on Thursday and Friday and the 8U, 10U and 12U softball divisions of the Georgia State Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

VLPRA all-star teams competed in five of the divisions, and put of valiant efforts, but ultimately the area’s teams were denied entry to the final stage of the Dizzy Dean tournament.

The closest a VLPRA team came to earning an invitation to the Dizzy Dean World Series was in baseball’s 7-year-old division. The VLPRA All-Stars advanced to the final round without a loss before falling twice to the eventual champions from Albany.

VLPRA’s 7-year-old all-stars beat Lee County in its first game Thursday afternoon, and a few hours later, they defeated 8th Ave. to close within a single victory of the double-elimination tournament.

Albany’s 7-year-olds rebounded from a loss against 8th Ave. in its first game to win consecutive elimination games, setting up a matchup against VLPRA on Friday morning. Albany had to beat the VLPRA All-Stars twice in a row to advance to the Dizzy Dean World Series, and it did just that, forcing VLPRA to settle for runners-up.

In the 8-year-old division, Lee County defeated Albany in a second-round rematch Friday evening to cap off its perfect 4-0 run through the six-team bracket. The 8-year-old VLPRA All-Stars were eliminated after back-to-back losses against Wayne County Gray and 8th Ave., respectively.

Albany came out on top against Lee County in the 10-year-old bracket. Albany beat Lee County in the first round of the bracket, but after eliminating VLPRA and 8th Ave., Lee County earned a rematch, but Albany once again proved to much to overcome.

The VLPRA also sent teams to Lee County to compete in the 6-year-old and 11-year-old divisions of the South Georgia State Baseball Tournament, but the hometown teams were able to capture the championship in both brackets.

In the Georgia State Softball Tournament, Carroll County won the 8U bracket despite losing its opening game of the tournament against Barrow County. Carroll County won five straight games after its loss — including elimination games against VLPRA and two straight against previously undefeated Dawson County — to earn its invitation to the Dizzy Dean World Series.

The VLPRA didn’t have a representative in the 10U division won by Barrow County in a winner-takes-all game against Hall County.

However, in the 12U softball, the VLPRA All-Stars won its first game against Gordon County on Friday afternoon to set up a game against Union County. Unfortunately, it was a game that wouldn’t be played for some seven hours after the completion of the VLPRA’s first-round match.

After the delay, VLPRA lost against Union County, setting up an elimination game against Douglas County on Saturday morning. Douglas County won the showdown, but it too came up short against the 12U champions from Union County.

Derrick Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.