The Spring Hill American Dixie Baseball AA Machine Pitch (age 7-8) All-Stars came into the summer as a young squad facing lowered expectations.
Yet the local crew ended up placing second at the District 6 Tournament last month at Ernie Wever Youth Park, and last weekend took part in the state tournament at the Max Long Recreational Complex in Sebring.
SH American ended up going 1-2 at states and failed to advance out of pool play, but did have the distinction of ending up as the only team to beat eventual state champion South Sumter, having won 5-3 over the Bushnell club in districts.
“It was a great experience,” SH American head coach Scott Emmerman said. “The Sebring fields were amazing; the staff was awesome. We practiced for five weeks straight. We just could not grasp game concepts, you can’t practice that stuff. Moving forward we’ll do more with scrimmages to get the boys prepared.
“It was a learning experience for the team and the parents. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll make a big stand next season.”
As part of Pool 2, SH American began play on Saturday with an 8-6 loss to Bartow and followed with a game against Sebring later that day. A rain delay postponed the ending of that one until Sunday morning, when SH American couldn’t muster the offense to overcome a 4-2 deficit and ended up losing, 6-3.
Later that Sunday, SH American pounded West Volusia, 12-0, to finish off its all-star run. However, near the end of that contest catcher Brodee Haas broke his tibia sliding into home plate and had to be bayflighted to a local hospital.
Despite that scary moment and the two previous losses, SH American had some things to feel good about. Emmerman was particularly happy with the defense, with Jayden Toth at first base, Brody Hedick at second, Rhett Williams at shortstop, Jacob Lugo in the pitcher’s circle, and Jaxson Barton, Mario DeAngelis and Noah Sanchez in the outfield.
Austin Emmerman, who won sportsmanship awards in the first two games, and Aidan O’Nolan were the top hitters. Hedick won a “sharp shooter” contest held prior to the tournament for his accuracy throwing to first base.
Coach Emmerman anticipates that he’ll have all but 3-4 of his players back next year, so there remains plenty of enthusiasm for the future.
“I’m real excited about next season,” Coach Emmerman said. “We’ll have all season to work with the kids. We’ll definitely have them where they need to be.
“Overall, I couldn’t be more proud of the kids. They left everything they could on the field. Maybe a few at-bats here and there, but other than that the defense was as solid as can be.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.