Giants Capture State Tournament
Now competing in the 10 year-old category, The Yalobusha Giants travel baseball team continue their winning seasons after capturing a state championship last month. Team members include (back row, from left) Austin Ledbetter, Tristan Shorter, Kemp Alderman, Trace Buffkin and Collin Reuter; (front row) Dre McCray, Wilson Varner, Ozzie Pratt, Hunter Jones and Tydarius Kuykendall. – Photo Provided
The Giants recorded a perfect 4-0 record in the state tournament scoring 36 runs while only allowing 4.
They end the regular season with an impressive 57-12 record, six of these losses coming from teams who are 11U and 12U. The Giants captured eight titles this year, including the Shreveport Super NIT and the Omaha Champions Village College WS tournament and have been in the semifinals in all 16 tournaments they have entered this year.
They will represent the state of Mississippi in the country’s most prestigious and most competitive travel baseball tournament, the Elite-32, at Disney’s Wide World of Sports July 13 through July 20 (they placed 5th out of 32 at this tournament last year as 9U).
This group of exceptional ball players have amassed a remarkable 236-52 record over the last 4 seasons; have won 39 tournaments; six state championships (three fall, three spring/summer); had four players elected to the USSSA 9U All-American team (Trace Buffkin, Ozzie Pratt, Kemp Alderman, and Austin Ledbetter); are consistently ranked in the top 10 in national travel baseball publications; and have dominated travel baseball in the southeast since they were seven years old.
