It took Bruce Price multiple attempts to coach a team to a Dixie Baseball World Series. Last weekend, the manager of the Brooksville Bulldogs travel ball squad finally got his chance on the biggest stage.
Price led a group that featured several Hernando County players, though formally representing Polk City, that went 2-2 in the Majors (age 17-19) All-Stars World Series at Ozark, Alabama.
“That wasn’t our goal. Our goal was to go up and either be in the final or win it,” Price said. “If we would have won that game (against Laurel-Jones, Mississippi), we would have been in the final four.”
Polk City played a couple of nail-biters to open the tournament July 30-31. Bradley Jarvis, from Lakeland, hit a two-out, two-run single in the top of the sixth inning, pushing Polk City in front to stay during a 4-3 victory over Columbia County, Georgia.
Against Laurel-Jones, Polk City carried a 2-1 advantage into the seventh, recorded two quick outs and was a strike away from the win. However, a wild pitch on a strikeout kept the game alive and preceded three consecutive hits by Laurel-Jones, which rallied for a 3-2 triumph.
On Monday, Polk City responded by knocking off Camden, Arkansas, 9-3. Pasco’s Corey Mills led off with a double for Polk City, and Hernando High graduate Justin Young drove him in on a single to start the scoring.
But Tuesday’s matchup with Ozark resulted in a 5-2 defeat, as the hosts put up four runs in the third to pull away.
For the tournament, Price pointed to work on the mound by Jarvis, Mills, Young, Hernando grads Elijah Ramirez and Travis Ritter, plus South Sumter’s Cinto Arredondo and Wesley Chapel’s Branden McLeod.
“Our pitching was tremendous. I couldn’t ask for more. The pitching kept us in all the games we played. We only had two errors throughout the whole tournament, which is really good baseball,” Price said. “I learned a lot as a coach, the kids learned a lot as players. Some of them are eligible next year. I look forward to going back next year and seeing what we can do.
“I want to thank the player parents. A lot of folks helped make that trip very enjoyable for the kids. Without those people, it’d wouldn’t have been a success.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.