The City of Hartsville had a great showing at the AAA Dixie Youth State Tournament held at Byerly Park July 19 –25.
The Northern Minor League All Stars advanced all the way to the championship game where they faced the all stars from Lancaster. The Lancaster team was undefeated, and Hartsville’s only loss came to Lancaster earlier in the tournament.
Hartsville struck first in the first inning when Toby Burchfield scored on a Matt Lynch sacrifice fly.
Lancaster responded, however, and tied the game 1-1 after one inning.
Hartsville came alive again in the top of the third inning and scored three runs to take a 4-1 lead.
They held that lead until the bottom of the fourth when Lancaster managed six runs and took a 7-4 lead. A lead they did not give up.
“I feel like my boys fought as hard as they could,” Hartsville Northern Manager David Coker said. “And with just a little luck, with a bounce here or there, we could be going to the World Series. The kids didn’t quit, and any kid I handed the ball to took it and did a great job on the mound. Runner up is a great accomplishment that I hope these kids can be proud of for years to come.”
Coker added that anyone who missed the tournament missed seeing the Northern League team giving everything they had and coming very close to a tournament championship.
Coker was extremely proud of the effort of his team. “I speak for all the coaches, as well as the parents that helped in practice from shagging balls to bringing Gatorade every night, when I say we are proud of our children and the effort they gave. It has taken quite a commitment from everyone involved to get where we ended up, and we are very proud of their accomplishments.”
Byerly Park was filled with parents and baseball fans every day of the tournament, and Hartsville had quite an audience for each game.
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