Fossil Park 9U All-Stars...2007 Florida Dizzy Dean State Runner Up. Click for Larger View
Fossil Park 9U All-Stars take 2nd Place in State Tournament
By Gerry Guidice
Gulf Breeze, FL – 7/9/07 - Gulf Breeze, FL – 7/9/07 - The Fossil Park 9U All-Star team went 3-2 in the scorching heat in sunny Gulf Breeze to finish 2nd in the 2007 Dizzy Dean State Tournament. The team started off on the right foot, beating Lynn Haven by a score of 13-0, and followed that win up with another 13-0 win over Perdido, both on the opening day of the tournament. That put them in the winner’s bracket final with a strong Gulf Breeze team. It was a rematch for several of the players for both teams. Last year, as 8 year olds, Gulf Breeze & Fossil Park battled into the final inning where Gulf Breeze eventually won the game 7-6, and went on to win the 2006 8U Dizzy Dean State Championship. Sunday’s noon start was hot, and so were the Gulf Breeze team’s bats. A tough fought battle was eventually won by the Wave of Gulf Breeze, by a score of 6-2.
The Fossil Park team was down, but not out. They came back to the park on Monday to face Tallahassee (Levy County) in the loser’s bracket final. The team recovered from their loss on the previous day, and dominated the game for a 10-0 win. That win earned them a rematch with Gulf Breeze just 20 minutes later. While the boys downed some much needed fluids and food, the coaches worked on a game plan on how to knock off the scrappy Gulf Breeze team. A win Monday night would force the “If needed” game to be played on Tuesday.
Fossil Park lost the toss, and batted first. They did get a couple of runners into scoring position in the top of the 1st inning, but were not able to get them across the plate, and Gulf Breeze got out of the inning unscathed. Then Gulf Breeze came to bat, and the team from Fossil Park could not stop their strong bats. Though they battled to the end, and never gave up, Fossil Park eventually fell to the Wave 14-0.
Fossil Park was lead offensively by several players. Tony Jones’, batting average of .583, 7 hits and 4 doubles lead the team in each of those categories. Joey Jimpie’s 6 RBIs and Ryan Cook’s 6 runs scored, lead the team as well in those areas. Defensively, the team played well, lead by catcher Chase Bardes, who slowed opponents running game down early in the tournament, by throwing several potential base stealers out trying to gain a base. Several players contributed to the pitching (3 shut-outs in 5 games), including Chris Labrie, Ryan Cook, Tyler Ramsay, Tyler Sankel, Justin Dahill and Joey Jimpie.
The second place finish qualifies the team for a trip to Southaven MS to play in the World Series, to be held on July 27th through August 2nd. Members of the team are Adam Arredondo, Chase Bardes, Mike Chadwell, Ryan Cook, Justin Dahill, Mike Guidice, Joey Jimpie, Tony Jones, Chris Labrie, Tyler Ramsay, Tyler Sankel and Nick Wethington.
