Local 5-6-year-old team qualifies for Dixie Youth World Series
One Kosciusko Dixie Youth baseball team has qualified for the World Series and another will attempt to do so this week.
The 5-and-6-year-old team qualified by finishing third in the state tournament last weekend at Cleveland. The 11-and-12 team will host the 12-team double elimination state tournament at Hugh Ellard Park beginning Friday.
Kosciusko will open play in the 11-12 tournament at 8 p.m. Friday against a team from Sumrall. If Kosciusko wins, the next game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday against Pike County or Laurel National. But if there is a loss, Kosciusko will drop into the losers bracket against the Pike County-Laurel loser at 9 a.m. Saturday in an elimination game.
Cooper Stevens will be the starting pitcher for Kosciusko Friday.
Kosciusko manager Sam Hill tabbed Columbia and his team as the favorites. Both have most of the players from teams that met three years ago in the 9-10 state tournament and World Series. Columbia defeated Kosciusko in the championship game of the state tournament, but Kosciusko won when they played again in the World Series and went on to win the championship.
The tournament is scheduled for completion Monday. The World Series will be August 3-8 in Ruston, Louisiana.
The 5-6 team went 4-2 in the state tournament. After an opening round loss to Pike County, Kosciusko won three losers’ bracket games in one day, defeating Pontotoc, Cleveland American and Lawrence County.
Kosciusko was eliminated from championship competition with a loss to Hattiesburg, but defeated Laurel National in a consolation game for third place. Hattiesburg won the tournament and Columbia finished second.
Kosciusko manager Wes Carter did not want to single out any players for praise. “After the first game, they played really good baseball, every one of them.” He will contact parents to make sure the players will be available for the World Series, and said they deserve the opportunity. “A lot of them might never have a chance to go to a World Series again.”
The World Series will be July 18-21 in Brookhaven.
Dixie Youth has teams from Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
