NATCHEZ — When Chris Rayborn decided to return to Natchez last winter, he vowed to increase interest in Miss-Lou baseball.

This fall, the owner of Advance Sports has taken the opportunity to focus on children that are especially dedicated to the game.

Rayborn has formed two fall ball teams associated with the USSSA, each of which travel to tournaments hosted on weekends. One team is for players ages 11 and under, and the other for children that are 8 and under.

On the weekend of Sept. 11, the 8 and under team traveled to Cypress Mound in Baton Rouge to compete in their first tournament.

The results were good: The 8 and under team beat the Walker Rockets 15-4 and the Springfield Bulldogs 20-0, before losing to the Livingston Dirtbags 21-3 in the championship game.

“Not every kid is playing football. We’re just trying to give the kids that excel at baseball an opportunity to play year round,” Rayborn said.

“I’m willing to give my time to do whatever I can do to teach people in the area to play baseball and hopefully get to the next level. This helps give them an opportunity I never had, playing baseball year round.”

Rayborn sets up his tournament schedules according to the USSSA Web site, where he can register teams for a tournament up until three days before.

“Every time they win, we get points. They have the tournaments and dates listed on their Web site, so all I have to do is talk to the parents and ask when it’s best for their kids to go,” Rayborn said.

Rayborn said many kids are made to play baseball during the spring and summer months. However, when fall rolls around, it’s usually only the extremely dedicated children that participate.

“These aren’t the kids that are being made to play, these are the kids that want to play,” Rayborn said.

“We couldn’t do it without the parents. They’ve been very supportive of what we’re doing. We also have a lot of local sponsors helping fund it.”

Rayborn said children from Franklin County, Natchez, Vidalia and Monterey are currently involved with the Advance Sports teams.

“In the spring we expect to have kids from Vicksburg, Brookhaven and Monroe as well,” Rayborn said.

For more information, contact Rayborn at 601-807-5153 or visit Advance Sports at 260 Seargent Prentiss Drive.