By Saturday afternoon, Spring Hill American will find itself in Lexington, S.C. competing on the opening day of the Dixie Baseball “O”Zone (age 11-12) All-Stars World Series. The county squad will be attempting to at least duplicate last year’s performance in this division, when Spring Hill finished as the World Series runner-up. SH American has already repeated as the state champ, going 4-0 in the state tournament July 18-22 in Carrabelle.
Among several heroes for the locals, Christian Cooper and Chris DiCono came up huge at times during the tournament. “It felt amazing. It was my first state championship and it was amazing to win it,” Cooper said. “I was very happy with my performances,” he added. “It was very awesome. It was the first state championship I’ve won, first World Series,” DiCono said. “Our bats were on fire for the most part.”
In three of the games, SH American won in a blowout, by a combined 42-4. But in the team’s second state tilt, it squeezed by West Seminole, 4-3. Cooper, a first baseman, accounted for the difference with a walkoff base hit to break a 3-all tie in the bottom of the sixth inning. “I was really nervous and it was I think first pitch, and he threw it right down the middle and I lined up the middle,” Cooper said.
For the tournament, Cooper hit .615 (8-of-13) with two doubles, a home run and six runs batted in. The homer came in the final, a 12-0 thumping of West Seminole, when he went 3-for-3 with two RBI. “I was really excited (on the home run) because I came up to bat and it was in the last game, the championship game, and I think it was an 0-1 pitch and he threw it right down the middle and I hit it out,” Cooper said. “It was really special to me because it was in the final game.”
That was a step up from districts in June, when he went 2-for-7 with five runs and one RBI across three contests. “He’s just a clutch hitter,” SH American head coach Thomas LoBianco said. “When the game is on the line, he’s excited for the opportunity and came through.”
Though DiCono, a third baseman, hit .455 with a pair of doubles and three RBI at states, his greatest impact was made on the mound. Overall he threw 10.1 innings in three appearances, two starts, permitting eight hits, one earned run and two walks while striking out 20. But it was in the championship game where DiCono tossed a complete game, allowing three hits and a walk against 10 strikeouts in six innings. “My stuff was on that game and we just got a stellar defense,” DiCono said. “It was huge.”
Like Cooper, DiCono improved on his play in districts, where he posted a .400 average with a double, a homer, five runs and two RBI. In his one district pitching appearance, he threw a four-inning complete game, giving up two hits and a run with a walk and eight strikeouts. “He pitched fantastic,” said LoBianco of DiCono’s title-game outing. “He was hitting his spots and his breaking ball was working. He worked ahead in the count and dictated the pace of the game for us. DiCono stated, “During the regular season he threw fantastic when we played against him but going against competition like that, he was unbelievable… He brings leadership, he’s one of the older kids on the team, and confidence to go in there and be a team player.”
DiCono will be the number one pitcher for SH American during the World Series, and the expectations are high for this group once again. “I’m looking for us to go far and maybe win it all,” Cooper said. “I need to get base hits, line drives, and play an excellent first base. “I’m going to be so nervous and excited seeing all the people that’ll cheer for our team and seeing other teams that are good, too… We’re going to do very well as long as we just keep on winning,” DiCono said.