Natchez teams advancing
Published 12:00am Monday, July 7, 2008NATCHEZ — Youth baseball is alive and well in Natchez — at least as far as All-Star teams are concerned.
The Natchez Dixie Youth and Dixie Boys program success has come as no surprise to those around the programs.
“To be honest, I expected the 9s to do well,” 11-and 12-year-old Commissioner Joe Eidt said. “They won state last year as 8-year-olds. I felt they could at least get back to the tournament.
“The 10s, I didn’t expect them to advance as far as they have, but I’m proud they did. I knew they had talent.”
As of Sunday night the Natchez 9s, 11s and 13s had advanced to their respective south-state tournaments, while the 10s and 14s play again today in their respective district finals to determine their seeding for the next round.
Eidt attributes the player’s success to the coaching.
“Our kids are learning real baseball,” Eidt said.
“They teach them the fundamentals and it shows at the tournament level.”
If all goes well, Natchez could once again have at least one team playing for a state title.
“It’s almost a tradition,” Eidt said. “People expect to see a Natchez team in the finals of the state tournament.
“I feel we’ll be competitive with any league.”
WHO PLAYS WHERE AND WHEN
The Natchez 9s will play Friday at 8 p.m. in Hattiesburg, and will face the district 7 runner-ups.
The Natchez 10s play today at 6 p.m. at Duncan Park against McComb. After dropping game one of the best-of-three series, Natchez will have to sweep McComb tonight in order to have the number one seeding.
If they lose, they will play at 6 p.m. Friday in Hattiesburg. If they sweep McComb, they’ll play at 8 p.m. Friday.
The Natchez 11s defeated McComb Saturday night and as a result, advanced to the South-State tournament. They will play at 8 p.m. on Friday in Magee against the district 7 runner-ups.
The Natchez 13s earned a bye due to a lack of opponents in the district, and will resume play July 19 and 20 in Cleveland.
Finally, the Natchez 14s defeated Lincoln County 13-12 in eight innings Saturday, and will face them again today at 7 p.m. The game will be played at the Covington Road Dixie Boys field behind Burger King.
