On July 14, the Greenville Dixie youth all-stars traveled to Dothan to compete in the district championship tournament.

Going

into the competition with the sub-district championship in hand, the 11 and 12 year-olds were confident in their ability to perform.

In game number one, Adam Moore (15) was the pitcher against Enterprise.

In what would turn out to be their first of two losses in the series, Greenville was not able to score any runs in the first inning.

Enterprise countered by sending six batters to the plate, but Greenville only allowed two of them to score.

In the second inning, neither team was able to account for any runs.

Going into the third inning, Greenville right fielder Rico Johnson (9) led off with a single.

Next up, Justin Bozeman (4) hit a ground ball to the Enterprise's pitcher and was caught out at first base.

Next, David Stephenson (5) struck out on calls at the plate.

Justin Hester(2) came up to bat next, and hitting a single, made it to second base on an error.

The next base hit was credited to Caleb Blackburn (1), and another error on the part of Enterprise allowed him to advance to second, and also sent Johnson to the plate to put Greenville on the scoreboard.

Left fielder Jon Golson (8) then hit up a fly ball to first, and the sides retired after three outs, with the score Enterprise 2, Greenville 1.

In almost a mirrored at-bat attempt for Enterprise, they had six batters and only two runs scored.

In the fourth inning, Greenville went to the top of their batting order.

Leading off was shortstop Lynn Lewis (6) who hit a fly ball to centerfield.

It was second baseman Brady Newton (7) up next, and with a keen eye, Newton walked to first on calls.

Next up, pitcher Adam Moore (15) hit a home run, and with Newton ahead of him, made the score 4-3 Enterprise.

Greenville was unable to score any more runs in the fourth, and the side was retired after three outs.

Enterprise sent seven batters to bat in the fourth, but only two runs made it in, bringing the score to 6-3 Enterprise.

Neither Greenville nor Enterprise was able to score in the fifth inning.

In the sixth, Hester led off with a base hit, and was followed by Blackburn who walked to first base.

Next at bat Golson walked, but not before both Hester and Blackburn were able to steal third and second bases, respectively.

At the plate next, Lewis walked to first on calls, allowing Hester to come in with another run.

Greenville's next three batters were out on strikes, and the sides changed with Enterprise in the lead, 6-4.

Neither team was able to score in the sixth inning, and the game ended with Enterprise downing Greenville, 6-4.

On July 15, Greenville played their second game, this time against Slocomb.

The tables were turned this time, as a survival mode kicked in for Greenville.

Greenville broke the silence in the second inning, when Adam Moore (2) hit a double, and was followed up by Michael McDonald (3) with a home run.

The side was retired with Greeville ahead of Slocomb, 2-0.

In the second and third innings, Slocomb just couldn't get it together, and did not score.

In the fourth, Greenville scored three runners home: Brady Newton (7) and Ben Coker (12) each had base hits, and then Adam Moore (15) hit a home run, bring them all in.

The side was retired after four with Greenville ahead 5-0.

In the sixth inning, Greenville added two more runs to the board, from stolen bases by Lynn Lewis (6) and Brady Newton (7).

When Slocomb came

to bat, Greenville only allowed them to score one run, and when the inning ended, Greenville had won 7-1, making their game tally one win, one loss.

In game number three against Dothan, Greenville first scored when second baseman Brady Newton (7) led off the first inning with a homerun.

Dothan made their first and only run in the top of the fourth, and then it was Greenville that countered with another on stolen bases from Lynn Lewis (6).

Dothan was unproductive in the fifth, but Greenville again added one run to the score thanks to

Justin Hester (2).

After Dothan was unable to score in the sixth inning, the game ended with Greenville winning, 3-1.

On Tuesday July 18, Greenville entered the fourth and what would end up being their final game of the tournament

when they fell to Enterprise.

Stepping out with an early lead, Greenville was up 2-0 when, in the bottom of the third inning, the momentum shitfted.

Going on contact, first baseman David Stephenson (5) left third base running for the plate.

In what appeared to everyone as bad judgement

on the part of the umpire, Stephenson was called out at the plate.

This one call was what it took to shatter the hopes and expectations of the 11 and 12 year-olds from Greenville who had fought so long and hard to get there.

With broken spirits, Greenville was unable to put any more score on the board, although they continued to play an outstanding defense.

Enterprise came back with a vengeance, and scored a total of 4 runs, to end the game 4-2 Enterprise.

"These boys put on the best defense of any team in the tournament, and all played very hard," said coach Tim Dunsford.

He added,"I feel that Greenville and Enterprise were the best two teams in the contest, we just got into that bracket where we had to play them twice."

When asked for comments on a most valuable player of the series, Dunsford stated, "The 13 all-stars contributed equally to the wins in both tournaments, and so I would have to say they were all MVP's."

In the end, Ozark was the district champion, beating Dothan National by a score of 7-2.

The 2000 Greenville Dixie Youth all-stars came back to Greenville without the first place trophy for the District, but ended up finishing in third place.

Not too shabby also is the fact that they brought home the first place trophy for the sub-district.

Credit should certainly go out to the team's coaching staff: Bill Farrar, Tim Dunsford and Mike McDonald.

These three men took the cream of the crop, a select group of superstars that

was formed throughout the season on all

Greenville teams, and shaped them into a well-oiled machine.

The boys all worked well together, and listened to what their coaches told them to do.

The end result was a team that has made history for the Camellia City by bringing home a championship from the sub-district, and third place overall for the district.

But there is one thing

these boys brought home to Greenville that no one can ever take from them:

The right to hold their heads up high and say, "We gave it all we had, as a team."