State tournament comes to Byerly Park
The 2008 Norhtern Minor League All-Stars are: front row, l to r, Michael LeBlanc, Matt Lynch, Mac Johnson, Tanner Lawson, Matt King and Austin Morris. Middle row, l to r, Jake Gates, Jake Beasley, Andrew Coker, Datavious Wilson, Toby Burchfield and Justin Prozzi. Coaches, Scott Beasley, head coach David Coker and assistant coach Gino Prozzi.
Byerly Park will be swarming with little leaguers, parents, grandparents and baseball fans of all ages this weekend beginning Saturday, July 19, when the Dixie Youth Minor League State Tournament descends on Hartsville.
Hartsville’s Northern League All-Stars will be representing Hartsville in the tournament as well.
The tournament is bringing visitors to Hartsville from all over South Carolina and should have a great impact on the Hartsville economy.
The Northern League All-Stars are pretty excited about it, too.
The team is coached by David Coker, who is assisted by Northern League President Gino Prozzi.
Talking to Coker and Prozzi, it is obvious they are proud of the team they have. “These kids have done everything we have asked them to do,” they said. “They have developed into a team that we will be proud of, win or lose.”
The coaches also know competition will be stiff. All 11 other teams have already won their respective district tournaments and enter the AAA State Tournament as district champions, they said. Prozzi and Coker believe anyone has a chance to win this weekend.
The team will, however, benefit from familiarity with one another. Coker and Prozzi said most of the team members have played travel baseball and are familiar with the situation. Nine of the 12, they said, have played together on the same travel team.
The coaches feel, with the scrimmages they have had recently and the extra time they have had to work on fundamentals, they have an opportunity to be very competitive.
Coker and Prozzi said they had hoped the all star team from the Hartsville National League could have won the district so Hartsville could have two teams in the tournament.
The National team fell a little short, but had an outstanding season of its own.
The players on the Northern League team are excited for the opportunity as well. “Every child is excited about playing in the Dixie Youth AAA State Tournament at Byerly Park,” coaches said. “They realize they will be representing our league and the City of Hartsville.”
Their first game is at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
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