The Columbia 7u all-stars are not only aiming to capture a second straight state title but consecutive regional World Series titles as well.
“Last year’s group at 6 years old won the World Series, so that’s obviously the ultimate goal is to win the World Series,” head coach Ryan Stringer said. “Part of that goal comes with winning state. That won’t be easy because there are obviously some other good teams there, but we consider ourselves to one of those good teams also.”
They began their title defense by winning district June 24 in Hattiesburg by beating St. Martin 11-0 and Hattiesburg 14-4 to advance to the district championship. However, Columbia lost the initial matchup with St. Martin 9-8, but St. Martin needed to beat Columbia twice to claim the title in a double-elimination format. The Columbia all-star squad refused to let the trophy slip through its fingers and hammered St. Martin to claim the district crown 14-4.
With a district title in tow, the all-star squad is on to Mendenhall this weekend in hopes of repeating as state champions. They will get the ball rolling Friday night at 7:30 against Laurel National and will play either Pike County or Yazoo City Saturday morning either at 9 or 10:30, depending on Friday’s results.
Heading into the tournament, Stringer said the all-star squad needs to focus on the fundamentals.
“We just need to get more consistent with our hitting and eliminate allowing free bases on defense,” he said. “If we can do those two things, we ought to be fine.”
Pictured Above: Columbia 7u's Jagger Earls takes a hack during a district tournament. | Photo by Tracey McNeese
