ELIZABETHTOWN — Buzz is growing.
They’re 9 and 10 years old, and a Dixie Youth Baseball team in Elizabethtown has captured the hearts and imagination of an entire town. And beyond.
The state champions will represent the town and all of North Carolina in two weeks at the World Series in Ruston, Louisiana. The team, coached by Kyle Bostic with assistants Joseph Hatcher and Dale Wood, will be in opening ceremonies on Aug. 2, then play a team from Alabama the next day in its opener.
Here’s five to know:
What is Dixie Youth Baseball?
It’s a youth baseball league, chosen by communities the same as they might choose other organizations such as Little League Baseball, Cal Ripken Baseball, Babe Ruth League, etc.
Often it is the first introduction to the organized game for its participants. Leagues in communities compete based on age levels, and at the end of the season eligible franchises can put together all-star teams that play district events for the right to go to the state tournament.
It is not “travel ball,” the term used for teams that are put together for weekend showcase events throughout the year.
Elizabethtown’s team of 9- and 10-year-olds won the state tournament last Friday in Dunn. They won six straight games in the losers bracket to do it, beating Stanley twice in the championship series.
How many teams are there?
The World Series is 12 teams, playing a double-elimination format.
Whereas a tournament that doesn’t have multiples of four will often have opening round byes to generate eight quarterfinalists, this one does not. Elizabethtown is among the four teams that can win just twice and be in the game of the last unbeatens; the other eight teams need to win three times to get there.
The winner of the game of the last unbeatens will have two more opponents to topple in order to be World Series champions.
Why not Lumberton?
Lumberton a year ago hosted the World Series, and this year is the host for a new level of play in Dixie Youth Baseball. What Lumberton hosted a year ago is this year in the Bayou State.
Lumberton is hosting a Dixie event next week. It’s part of the Division II World Series, a level set up and approved last November for smaller leagues. Lumberton has the Division II Majors, “O” Zone and AAA events; Ruston will have the Division II Coach and Machine Pitch events.
For Division I, where Elizabethtown is playing, Ruston has all of those: Coach, Machine Pitch, Majors, “O” Zone and AAA.
What about Barry?
Hurricane Barry went through Louisiana last weekend, but the rainfall was not as bad as originally projected. Some forecasts called for 20 inches in parts of the state, though mostly south of Ruston.
One community an hour southeast of Ruston only managed 2 inches, for example. And farmers there said it was needed.
There should be no lingering problems from rainfall or post-storm flooding.
What is from Ruston?
Ruston is the home to Louisiana Tech University, a city of about 20,000 in the region known as ArkLaTex because it is in the northern section of the state and near the borders of Arkansas and Texas. It is roughly 900 miles from Elizabethtown, a full day’s drive of better than 13-plus hours or a flight of nearly four hours.
While Louisiana Tech isn’t really well known in North Carolina, a number of its former students probably are recognizable. They include country singers Trace Adkins and Kix Brooks; NFL Hall of Famers Willie Roaf, Fred Dean and Terry Bradshaw; NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone; and Hall of Famer Kim Mulkey, who went on to win a national championship coaching women’s basketball at Baylor.
Head coach Kyle Bostic (right) talks with C.J. McCracken during a 3-1 win over Whiteville at the state tournament. McCracken had reached his pitch limit and was taking a spot at third base. Elizabethtown won the game 3-1, which earned it a spot in the final day against Stanley.
Elizabethtown’s team of a dozen 9- and 10-year-old baseball players is headed to Ruston, Louisiana, to play in the Dixie Youth Baseball World Series.