The drive to Pineville was a long one for the JP8U boys on Friday and Saturday, the longest that any of the five All-Star teams from Jackson Parish that played this past weekend had to make. The trip back either night didn’t seem to take nearly as long.
That was because every one of the 12 players that blasted their way to three straight victories in the Dixie Youth District 8 “Coach Pitch” All-Star tournament had plenty to reminisce about. The way the “dandy dozen” swung the bat they were already back home before they could recap all the hits and runs that were accumulated in the contests against the teams from Alexandria, Buckeye and Tioga.
You can rest assured they slept well when they returned to the Piney Woods though on Saturday night. Making two long round trips in roughly a 24-hour period and playing three games in the sweltering Louisiana summer heat would tire a person of any age out, much less an eight-year-old boy. Especially when you take into consideration that over the course of the three games, JP8U scored a total of 40 runs, for an average of 13.33 runs per game. That is a lot of base running.
You can add head coach Dusty Nomey and assistant Lance Seymore to the list of those worn out as well. It wouldn’t be surprising if both were holding their right arms a little lower on Sunday as they were the ones who pitched to the boys that beat Alexandria 16-1, Buckeye 10-1, and Tioga by a 14-3 margin.
Better break out the ice packs! There is still more games left to the played!
The victors will next play in the finals of the winner’s bracket on Monday, June 19th, needing only one more win in the ten-team tourney to ensure a spot in the Dixie Youth State Tournament that will be played July 13-16 in Jefferson Parish.
Jackson Parish 16 Alexandria 1: Taking a page from the adage that It isn’t the size of the dog in the fight that matters but the size of the fight in the dog the team whose All-Stars are made up from one of the smallest populated areas in the tourney blew away the one that has the most to draw from. JP8U wasted no time jumping all over Alexandria, scoring six runs in the first inning and adding eight more in the second to win going away in the four-inning affair.
Not only did the locals reach base 20 times, they did so on 17 hits, including five that went for extra bases. Kutter Blalock went 3/3 that included a double and a home run and scored three runs to pace the attack with with Cruz Nomey also “touching them all” with a round tripper. Brock Craighead stroked a triple and scored two runs as did Ridge Lewter who went 3/3 with a double. Asher Norred got three hits and scored three runs and Carter Kelly reached base in all three at bats and scored twice. Maddox Graham and Jaxon Anderson also scored a run each.
Jackson Parish 10 Buckeye 1: Koplen Taylor hit a home run, Brock Craighead went 3/3 with a triple and Asher Norred stroked a double as the locals methodically pulled away for what turned out to be another easy victory. Kutter Blalock reached base in all three at bats for the second game in a row and scored two runs as did Carter Kelly. Cruz Nomey chipped in with a run as well.
Jackson Parish 14 Tioga 3: Maddox Graham went 4/4 with a double and a home run and scored three runs and Jaxon Anderson, Remi Davis and Asher Norred all scored twice as the locals powered their way to another victory. Koplen Taylor got a pair of hits, including a triple and scored twice and Carter Kelly got a hit in all three at bats to run his on base string to nine straight at bats over the three games. Brock Craighead and Kutter Blalock added a run each.
