The Columbia 10u all-stars followed a heartbreaking, 9-inning loss to Louisiana to open the Dixie Youth AAA World Series in Lumberton, N.C., with a pair of victories to set up a quarterfinals matchup with South Carolina Aug. 7 but had their season come to a close in a hurry.
South Carolina jumped on Columbia early and the local squad couldn’t find a way to get back in the game.
“We kind of came out flat and didn’t look like we were ready to play for whatever reason. All the early breaks kind of went to South Carolina, and that kind of took the wind out of your sails,” head coach Hunter Forbes said. “There were a few full-count pitches we thought were on the corner, and the umpire thought they were just a little bit off so we didn’t get those punch outs we needed. It all went south for us from there. Every ball they hit found a hole, and we made a few errors. We just really never gave ourselves a chance.”
Columbia lost to the eventual World Series champions 12-0, but Forbes said the bitter end can’t take away from what the team accomplished.
“We’re definitely a little disappointed we didn’t play a little better than we did at the World Series, but we can’t get lost in the disappointment and frustration of that one tournament. Overall it was just a fantastic year where we accomplished so many different things throughout the summer,” he said. “To win that fourth consecutive state championship, there definitely aren’t many teams that have done that. We’re really proud of our effort and focus in getting that done.”
Forbes offered a special “thank you” to the community for backing the hometown team.
“We can’t thank everybody enough that supported and rallied around us, especially with the donations to make the World Series trip possible. It means so much to the players and their families and the coaches,” he said. “We’re very thankful for the experience, and hopefully we get the opportunity in the future to go again.”
Columbia 10u included Braxton Albritton, Jack Carney, Ashton Daniels, Ryder Earls, Hagen Forbes, Kole Louge, Daniel Lowery, Owen Simmons, Kolby Stringer, Logan Buckley, Carter Fortenberry and Logan Green and coaches Forbes, John Green and Ryan Stringer.
