The Columbia 8u all-stars are undefeated and are heading to Philadelphia this weekend to play for the state championship.
The all-star squad begins its journey in the AA Coach Pitch State Tournament Friday night at 6 against Laurel National on the Citizens Bank ballfield. With a win Friday, the Columbia all-stars would play the winner between Cal-Chic and Cleveland West at 11 Saturday morning. With a loss they would play the loser of those two.
Columbia 8u head coach John Gay said everything has been good so far but he would like to see a little more consistency at the dish.
“I think we’ll be fine if we can hit the baseball,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of kids playing new positions, and the big key is we’re going to see a lot more talent up there. The pace of play is going to be a lot quicker.”
Gay added hitting will be the primary focus in the lead up to the state tournament.
“We’re going to have hitting practice all week, just grind away on hitting. I thinking our defense is there. I think we’ll continue to do really well defensively wise. We just want to get the kids on point on hitting,” he said.
The all-star squad went undefeated two weeks ago in its district tournament, beating St. Martin 7-2, Perry County 10-2 Hattiesburg Red 15-5, Greene County 18-6 and beat Hattiesburg Red once again in the championship 5-3.
Gay said the results of the state tournament don’t really matter as far as he is concerned. He said as long as they give it their all he will be pleased.
“I just want to see 100 percent effort. Win or lose, I couldn’t be more proud of the kids. We’re at that point where we’re just as (advanced) as any of the groups if we give 100 percent.”
Pictured Above: Parker Dykes launches the ball into the outfield. | Photo Submitted
