Dixie Day 2: God, country and baseball

CLARKTON — A church service and baseball games were on the agenda for teams here in the Dixie Youth Baseball state championship tournament on Sunday.

Carey Wrenn, the state director, said the organizations places God and country above all else.

“We’ve had as many as 300 in this church service before,” Wrenn said.

Though the gathering was smaller on this Fourth of July Sunday, the participants at Clarkton Presbyterian Church were engaged. Bladen County’s Malakye Rogers said his favorite part was when Howard Faircloth sang.

“It was cool,” Rogers said. “He sang us a song.”

West Chatham and Columbus County had good representations.

Wrenn had a part in the church service, trying to make it as interactive as possible to keep the children engaged and focused. He recalled the inspirational speech that happened Friday night at the opening ceremony.

The state director brought up two different books on Friday night — the Bible and the Dixie Youth handbook. He pointed out that one of the most important of the 10 commandments was to honor one’s mother and father. Among a few questions he posed to the players, he asked which commandment he spoke about two nights earlier.

“The message was that God loves us and to love one another,” Phillip Michael Richardson, an 8-year-old who plays for Columbus County said.

His father, also Phillip Richardson, thought it was a wonderful church service and he was glad he brought his son to take part.

Wrenn said Dixie Youth provides scholarships to former players, including $170,000 to 85 former players in 2019.

The tournament continues on Monday and Tuesday, with a game possible on Wednesday. Host Bladen County was eliminated with a second loss on Sunday.