Spring Hill National didn’t return home with a championship trophy after traveling to Sebring for the Dixie Baseball AAA Minors (age 9-10) All-Stars State Tournament. But the local squad still represented itself well on the big stage.
A 3-2 run through the tournament ended with an 8-3 loss to host Sebring on Wednesday, one game away from a rematch with District 6 rival Bushnell American.
“I think the tournament went very well. We got deep into the bracket but fell short,” SH National head coach Larry Marsh said. “There were good teams up there, good ballplayers. The last game we had a rain delay and I think that changed the momentum of the game.”
Prior to that meeting with Sebring, SH National opened with a 14-4 triumph over Okeechobee on July 16 before going down to Bushnell American the next day, 21-5.
From there SH National rattled off wins over Bartow on Monday, 4-2, and Hardee County on Tuesday, 2-1, as Cody Bishop and Alex Rodriguez tossed back-to-back complete games.
Pitching certainly proved a strong point for SH National, and Shawn Hicks was continuing that trend against Sebring when the skies opened up.
When play resumed, a 2-1 lead for SH National was erased by a five-run Sebring outburst, and the county club finally succumbed to elimination.
Hicks had a run-scoring double in that game. Nathan Marsh consistently found his way on base throughout the tournament, Justin Sesera hit a home run, Tristan King displayed a sharp batting eye and Connor McAfee played well. Center fielder Brendan Anderson, left fielder Hayden McElreath and second baseman Nathaniel Leavitt were stout defensively. Ryder Tyszko also drew praise from Coach Marsh for catching the entire tournament.
Additionally, the coach wanted to recognize third baseman Vinny Pasarela for enduring getting hit by line drives and hard hops six times between districts and states.
The problem, the coach said, was though various players stepped up offensively in certain games, SH National couldn’t get enough bats rolling throughout the event.
Nevertheless, SH National did earn the Sportsmanship Award, a nod to Coach Marsh’s emphasis on discipline on and off the field.
“My parents were nice. Of course the kids from Day 1 knew what I don’t tolerate,” Coach Marsh said. “My kids didn’t holler at the umpires not one time. I don’t allow that. It’s (bad calls) part of the game.”
Bushnell American ended up knocking off Sebring in Thursday’s final, 9-8. Though SH National had lost twice to Bushnell American, including a 17-1 defeat in districts, Coach Marsh was looking forward to a third contest.
“We all felt we’d get to the dance and play Bushnell for the championship,” Coach Marsh said. “We’re a good enough team to do that. We fell short in that last game. I don’t know whether not having that rain delay would have turned things the other way. That’s baseball.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.