The Batesburg-Leesville Coach Pitch All-Stars punched their ticket to the Dixie Youth Baseball World Series last week after winning the Division II AA South Carolina state championship.

The Batesburg-Leesville team started the journey by going 3-0 in district three tournament play. The undefeated district record was good enough to qualify them for the South Carolina state tournament in Dillon.

In Dillon, the team was a buzzsaw. Batesburg-Leesville won all six of their games in the state tournament to win the South Carolina state title and earn a spot in the Dixie Youth Baseball World Series which will take place in Hattiesburg, Miss. starting July 27 through August 1.

The trip to Hattiesburg will be a historic one for the Batesburg-Leesville community as it will be the first time the organization has ever made it this far. According to head coach Chris Shealy, this event poses as a special opportunity for this group of kids.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Shealy said. “Out of all the teams in the state of South Carolina, we’re the only team that gets to go from division two and play… Batesburg-Leesville has been around 20 or 30 years and never had the opportunity to send a team there or a team to win their way to get to go there so it is a huge opportunity for our kids to be able to play people from other parts of the country and to be able to have the opening ceremonies at the University of Southern Miss’ baseball complex , it’s a very big stage they set for these kids that get a chance to make it to Mississippi.”

The journey to get to this point and make history is something that Shealy has already looked back on fondly and he’s been able to see sizable growth from his players ever since district play.

“It’s an amazing journey,” Shealy said. “So, for me as a coach, the most fulfilling part of it is every time our kids go out and play, they play to a higher level than they were before. They’re learning, they’re giving 110% effort trying to be the best they can be every game they go out there and they’re setting the bar higher every time that they get on the field and they’re reaching it every time they go out.”

The team is still actively raising funds to help get them to Hattiesburg and to be able to play on this national stage. According to Shealy, the community has stepped up to help the team out and that there is still an opportunity to help them fund their travel and lodging.

“Checks can be made to Batesburg-Leesville Youth Sports. They can be mailed in to our treasurer which is Scott Buzhard,” the coach said. “It is a huge expense for our team to travel to Mississippi. We just spent a good bit of money just to go to Dillon for five days so it’s a huge expense and we’ve had businesses and all that have reached out and have been willing to help us with this journey.”

The Batesburg-Leesville team will compete with teams from Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Virginia in the event.