By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

BATON ROUGE, La. – The future appears bright for baseball in Cherokee County.

Two local all-star teams recently competed in the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Rec All-Star World Series in Baton Rouge, La. Following a slow start in pool play, Cherokee 10U went 3-0 in bracket play and finished 4-2 overall to win the World Series title. They defeated Westside of Addis, La. 14-4 in the championship game on Sunday.

Cherokee 12U finished its tournament as runner-up to Tallassee following a 13-1 setback in their title game.

“It really does say a lot (to have two all-star teams from the same county competing),” Cherokee 10U head coach Adam Anderson said. “To have kids like this hungry, wanting to play ball and wanting to be successful, I think the future is as bright as ever for Cherokee County baseball.”

“I haven’t heard of anyone (from the same county) in a long time making it as far as these two did,” added Cherokee 10U assistant coach Ross Van Pelt. “It goes back to the coaches just doing the small things right and the kids being willing and coachable and wanting to make it this far. That’s the goal every time, to go as far as you can. For both teams to be able to do that, that’s really special.”

Cherokee 12U coach Johnny Puckett echoed the 10U coaches’ sentiments.

“It’s a very bright sign for Cherokee County High School baseball the next couple of years,” Puckett said. “There is a strong bunch of kids coming up, and we’re very excited about that.”

The two teams certainly gave the fans that made the long trip to Louisiana their money’s worth.

In pool play, Cherokee 10U defeated Bloomfield Pride (Macon, Ga.) 11-4, but lost to Ragland in a nail-biter 8-7 and fell to FCBA (Fayetteville, Ga.) 11-3.

Cherokee 10U picked things up in bracket play. They defeated Gulf Shores 11-8 and held off Newton Blue (Covington, Ga.) 5-4 to clinch a berth in the championship game.

In the title game, Cherokee 10U came out swinging. After starting pitcher Cash Walsh sat Westside’s batters down in order in the top of the first inning, Cherokee 10U’s bats erupted. They scored seven runs in the bottom half of the first to take control early.

“They just came out aggressive, like sharks that smelled blood in the water,” Anderson said. “They wanted to win. They wanted that championship.

“It was a real dominant performance. Most of their (Westside) kids only batted once in the game. They never made it through the whole lineup twice. The Westside coach spoke to the boys and told them that we were the best team they’ve ever played. When it came time to play ball, that’s exactly what they did. They took it seriously. Every game they went out and played it with a purpose.”

Meanwhile, Cherokee 12U went 1-1-1 in pool play. They defeated Anniston 6-3, then lost to Northport 13-3 and tied Orange Beach 8-8.

In bracket play, Cherokee 12U lost to MYB Legends (Macon, Ga.) 9-5, but picked itself up to defeat Gulf Shores 11-6, beat Sumiton 9-5, and hold off Glencoe 5-4 to reach the title game against Tallassee.

“That (Tallassee) team, this was their third consecutive year of making it to the championship, and they had never won it until this year,” Puckett said. “It was a good run tournament. We had some really bright moments. Our kids had the opportunity to do something that a lot of kids don’t have a chance to do.”

Coaches from both teams gave credit to the support they had during their tournament runs.

“Both teams reached out for sponsors, and the City of Centre and Cherokee County as a whole came together and donated,” Van Pelt said. “We also couldn’t be more proud of our fan base. It took us about seven hours to get down there, but it felt like we had home field advantage every time we played because of the fan base that traveled with us.”

Anderson said the tournament was “bigger than baseball.”

“They’re all going to remember this for the rest of their lives and so will I,” he said. “I played high school ball (at Gaston) growing up. We won championships in little league and things like that, but this is by far my greatest sports moment ever.”