Bombers Take Second at State

"B" State Tournament

Chickamauga, GA

Game 1: Won 18-3 against the Chatsworth Giants

Game 2: Won 19-11 against Boundary Waters

Game 3: Won 21-11 against the Powder Springs Warriors

Game 4: Won 7-2 against the LFO Warriors

Game 5 (semi-final): Lost 14-10 to the East Cherokee Rebels

Game 6: Won 20-17 against the Canton Noles

Game 7 (championship game): Lost 9-5 to the East Cherokee Rebels

Our first game was on Friday evening. We all headed up towards North Georgia, checked in our hotel in Chattanooga and ventured out to discover Chickamauga. The field as nestled between the train tracks and the public library and was probably the smallest field we have played on all season. Moreover, it was hard and dry -- almost like concrete. The conditions would definitely change the game.

We easily beat the Chatsworth Giants in the first game which was critical for us. Over the past three tournaments we have lost the first game and headed down to the loser bracket which makes it much more difficult to win. This also gave the boys the excitement and confidence they needed to win.

We played again on Saturday and faced a much tougher team but the boys prevailed and pulled out another win against Boundary Waters, 19-11. The boys played in the pool and went to the Lookouts game that evening. They were having a blast being together and playing together.

Since we were on a winning streak, we played two games on Sunday. The boys were on a roll and managed to beat both teams. We headed back to Atlanta 4-0 and one of the four final teams that would be in the semi-finals on Tuesday night. Everyone was excited to move forward but had to juggle schedules and make arrangements for another mid-week trip back to Chattanooga/Chickamauga.

We faced the East Cherokee Rebels in the semi-final. They were a very strong offensive team and got several home runs. Even though we were probably stronger in the field, we weren't entirely on our game and we lost 14-10 which meant that we had to play again since this was a double-elimination tournament. We met the Canton Noles and the boys played hard to win 20-17. They had made it to the finals of the state tournament. At this point, we felt that no matter what happened they were winners!

After a full day entertaining the kids at the pool, movies and aquarium we headed back to Chickamauga for one final visit. We met up with the East Cherokee Rebels again. They were 6-0 coming into the finals and they were very confident. They went out and quickly took the lead 5-0. While we stayed in the game, we weren't able to gain enough momentum to catch up and lost the game 9-5.

Overall, the Bombers ended the season with a 20-10 season record, two tournament wins, three trophies, a ton of amazing memories and a group of really good friends. Not too shabby!

A Big Win

USSSA's Battle of the 4th Tournament

North Macon Park

Macon, GA

Game 1: Lost to Team Precision 9-2

Game 2: Won against the North Macon All Stars 15-0 in three innings

Third seed after the pool games

Game 3 (semi-final): Won against Team Precision 11-6

Game 4 (championship game): Won against the Diamond Bears 11-9

We headed down to Macon for a one-day, all-day tournament. We were expecting it to be hot and buggy and some parents weren't looking forward to the trip. However, it was cool and breezy with just a few wispy clouds in the sky. A perfect day and we were glad to have to spent it outside.

The first game was at 10 a.m. and as usual it takes a while for our boys to get warmed up. They weren't hitting at all and made some errors in the field. Jayson played third base and made a few good plays and then rotated as pitcher. He had one good hit but that was it. The Bombers lost 9-2 to Team Precision (dressed in black!).

After a break we took on the hosting team, the North Macon All Stars. They had some very young and inexperienced players and we handedly won the game in three innings 15-0. The Bombers were energized by the win and their game started coming together both in the field and at the plate.

We all knew that we would have to step up our game in the semi-final where we faced Team Precision again. They were overly confident and our team was tight in the field and our bats came alive. We beat them 11-6 to make it into the championship game.

Everyone was excited that we had made it this far. Maybe due to our lucky red shirts or maybe due to the weather or the berry energy drinks that we gave the kids... whatever it was, we were happy to be there. We faced the Diamond Bears in the final game and amazingly the team played better than ever. They held them to no runs in several innings and they continued to hit consistently. They held it up and won the game 11-9 to win the tournament. The team and the coaches were so excited. The joy and happiness made the day in the sun in Macon, GA well worth it!