For the first time ever, Dixie Baseball will hold a 15U World Series, taking place July 21-24 in Ozark, Ala.
Last weekend, a team of all-stars from Spring Hill Dixie assured it would participate in that event, finishing second in the state tournament held in Polk County.
“It went well,” Spring Hill head coach Bob Roberson said. “We hit really well in three of our games and not so well in two of our other ones. I think we’re in really good shape going up to the World Series in Alabama.
“Overall I’m really pleased with the way the guys played. We really only had two weeks to get ready.”
Spring Hill went 3-2, losing twice to champion and host North Lakeland across the three-day tournament. On June 3, Spring Hill opened with an 11-1 win over Bartow, and followed with a 17-0 thumping of Fort Meade the next day.
But later that second day, Spring Hill ran into North Lakeland for the first time and got shut out, 12-0. It bounced back with a pivotal 8-4 triumph against North Tampa on June 5, but again lost to North Lakeland a few hours later in the final, 16-0.
Despite the lopsided outcomes, Roberson didn’t feel North Lakeland was simply a cut above. He noted that in each game, Spring Hill did not have much of its typical pitching depth available. Also, with both meetings coming in the second contest of the day, Roberson felt North Lakeland’s home-field advantage loomed even larger.
In the championship tilt with a state berth already clinched, Roberson opted to play his reserves who had not seen much playing time.
“They’re not any better than us. I consider us very equal,” Roberson said of North Lakeland. “We advanced, we got what we wanted, and we’re not going to lose any face saying we’re in second place. Our goal was to get to the World Series. So we let our other players play.”
The coach pointed out the strong performance of pitcher Alex Renke, who tossed a complete game against North Tampa, as well as outfielder Caleb Roberson, shortstop Sam Roush and catcher Henry Fernandez.
Now Roberson and his coaching staff can turn their attention to the World Series, and have ample time to prepare for that trip to Alabama.
“We have six weeks and I expect guys to work super-hard at practice every single day,” Coach Roberson said. “We’ll work very hard on pitching and very hard on hitting. I expect the hitting to be stellar when we get to Alabama.
“I want to make a run for the title, 100 percent. There’s no reason why we can’t beat every team that we face.”
The AA Rookies (ages 7-8) All-Stars District 6 Tournament also wrapped up late last week at Kenny Dixon Sports Complex in Bushnell. Spring Hill American had the best finish among three county squads, going 2-2.
SH American opened with a 10-4 win over Wesley Chapel on June 4, then lost to Bushnell, 12-11, in a game that began June 5 but wasn’t completed until two days later due to rain. Later on last Wednesday, SH American defeated San Antonio, 15-10, before getting eliminated by Bushnell on Thursday, 15-5.
Spring Hill National lost to Wesley Chapel National on June 4, 24-10, and San Antonio the following day, 18-3. Brooksville suffered a 15-5 loss to Wesley Chapel National on June 5 and 15-0 to Wesley Chapel American on Tuesday.
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.