A state runner-up finish

Published 9:32 am Wednesday, July 18, 2018

The Charlotte County All-Stars did not win the 2018 Virginia Dixie Youth Baseball Machine Pitch State Tournament last week, but given the way the team performed overall during the event, it felt like they finished with a triumph.

Claiming third place in the District 5 tournament and thus the final state tournament berth for the district, Charlotte showed it belonged in the state tourney, reaching the championship round to face their undefeated district rival, the Lunenburg County All-Stars.

Charlotte lost to Lunenburg 13-1 during the district tourney and 15-9 earlier in the state tourney. In the championship round game July 11, Charlotte led 3-0 halfway through the game. Lunenburg rallied in the fourth inning and pulled away slightly for a 7-3 win, but Charlotte had made a definitive statement to its fans, the community and its manager.

“(I) can’t ask for anything more,” Charlotte Manager David Evans said. “They left it all out on the field. They played great — best game they’ve played by far in nine games. This is the absolute best they’ve played. They came to play ball tonight. The best team won, but we came to play ball. Breaks either way could have changed that (result). It was a close game, but that’s baseball.”

To reach the state title round, Charlotte edged out the District 5 runner-up Blackstone All-Stars 15-14 on July 10.

“I hope in two more years we’re back together again as the 10-yearolds in Minors,” Evans said of his team. “It may change a little bit, but this is a core group of kids that play well together and are really talented. So, hopefully we get some pitching and we’ll be back in two years …”