Wakulla 12U Allstars World Series Bound! 

With the excitement of the Cal Ripken World Series just a few weeks away, the Wakulla 12U Allstars return to practice as usual hoping to make a statement in Van Buren, Arkansas.  The adrenaline of the Southeast Regional Championship has subsided, and the Allstars are making preparations for the trip to the Field of Dreams stadium.

The 12 and under Allstars were welcomed back to Wakulla County with the remarkable support of the community, which was overwhelming at the team's fundraiser on Saturday, July 28th, where many well-wishers stopped to congratulate the team members, make donations and express that they were “making Wakulla County proud”.  The great community support has been a contributing factor in the team’s accomplishments.

{sidebar id=1}Since the end of May, the 12 and under team, comprised of 12 recreation park players selected from a group of 60, has put together an impressive record.  This team won the 7th Annual Woodville Rag Shirt Tournament in June, being the first Wakulla County team to do so.  The team has also played six scrimmage games against local Tallahassee teams winning each of those by nine runs or more.  Then, in July, the Allstars began their tournament domination.  The District 2 tournament included Madison County, Taylor County, and Jefferson County held at Medart Recreation Park.  Wakulla won the district by outscoring their opponents 22-4.

Two weeks later, in the North State Tournament in Live Oak, Wakulla continued their winning streak by dominating the other teams from Julington Creek, Normandy, Mandarin (Jacksonville), and Bradford County.  Wakulla's hitting and pitching continued to improve and only allowed 2 runs in 4 games while scoring an unbelievable 51 runs.

At the Southeast Regional Tournament in Grand Bay, Alabama, Wakulla represented North Florida well by beating the host team 18-2, a team from Ocee Park, Georgia 24-2, the West North Carolina state champions 3-2, and the Tennessee state champions 14-4.  In the elimination round, Wakulla's first game against the Alabama state champions had all the excitement of a major league game.  Wakulla was down 0-6 in the bottom of the fifth, when a solo home run sparked the team into a six hit rally with 2 outs (four of which were doubles) to tie the game 6-6.  In the sixth inning, Wakulla shut out the stunned Alabama team, and another solo home run won the game for Wakulla, and advanced them to the championship game against a very good East North Carolina team.

Wakulla would not be denied the championship, and began with a 6-0 lead with outstanding hitting and pitching.  In the fourth inning, after a couple of walks and timely hits, the East North Carolina team would not quit and tied the score 6-6.  However, Wakulla’s offense proved to be too much and they scored 3 more unanswered runs to bring home the Southeast Regional Championship.  Wakulla outscored their regional opponents 75-22, with 24 homeruns by 8 different players in 6 games and is entering the Cal Ripken World Series with an impressive 23-0 record.

The coaches and parents are grateful for all the support given to the 12U players and would like to thank the community for all donations.  A fish fry has been organized for Saturday, August 4th, 6:00 p.m. at Harvey Young Farm.  Donations will be accepted to help offset the costs of the 12-day  trip to Arkansas.  Please contact Bobbie Dugger at 566-0831 for more information.

This article originally published on July 30, 2007.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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