Pre-Majors, O-Zone All-Stars begin play Saturday
Last year, the Bossier All-Stars finished tied for third in the Dixie 11-12 O-Zone World Series.
Saturday, this year’s version of the Bossier All-Stars begin play in the 2012 World Series against Sebring, Fla., at 6 p.m. in Cleveland, Miss.
Bossier is one of 16 teams from 10 southern states and Texas in the double-elimination tournament.
The Bossier Pre-Majors All-Stars also begin play in the World Series Saturday in Guntersville, Ala. They face Hattiesburg, Miss., at 1 p.m.
The Pre-Majors Series includes 12 teams from 11 states.
Bossier O-Zone coach Dustin Brandon was also a coach on last year’s 11-12 team, so he’s got a general idea of the type of competition his team will be up against.
“I think we have a chance to do as good or better than we did last year,” he said. “We hit better as team than we did last year but we don’t have the dominant pitching.”
If his team can continue to hit well and get solid pitching, Brandon sees no reason why Bossier can’t be in the the hunt for the title when the tournament concludes Thursday.
Bossier put on a home-run exhibition against Shreveport in an 18-1 victory in the championship game of the state tournament earlier this month in Princeton.
Jonathan Brandon, the son of Dustin and his wife Kelly, had three home runs in that game. A pitcher and infielder, Brandon is the only player back from last year’s squad.
Several members of last year’s team moved up to the Bossier 13s team that won the Dixie state championship Monday night at Walbrook Park.
Other members of the Bossier O-Zone state championship team are Chase Hodges, Hunter Hollis, Amani Larry, Hunter Nycum, Harrison Tauzin, Jake Fayard, Che Lopez, Trevor Tamburo, Hayden Travinski, Tyson Vorachek, Kaimana Williams and Steven Lutterman.
The Bossier Pre-Majors finished fourth last year. Only one player, Parkway’s Holden Orgeron, returns from that team.
Bossier coach Bryan George has added one player to his World Series roster, Benton pitcher Aaron Henigan. Henigan was a Bossier Press-Tribune All-Parish selection last season.
George said four players from the team that won the state championship last Friday will be unable to play in the World Series because of family and other obligations.
George’s World Series team will be Blake Buckman and Austin Jordan of Evangel; Tucker Fulco, Jaret Gill, Cameron Horton, Aaron Sheppard, Tyler Stephens, Branson Woodward and Henigan from Benton; Chase Rivers, Dylan Elliott and Andrew Lowe of Airline; and Rob Harper and Orgeron from Parkway.
Horton, Sheppard, Stephens, Woodward and Lowe all played on the Bossier team that finished runner-up in last year’s Dixie 14s World Series.
“We have a young team,” George said. “We’ll be going up against teams with a lot of 17-year-olds. We don’t even have anybody that’s turned 17 yet.”
