JULINGTON CREEK SLAMMERS RETURN HOME PROUD!!

As the twelve families of Julington Creek Baseball’s 8 yr old all-star team returned home from Virginia last week, everyone was all smiles. They had just completed the best all-star season for any team in the 5 year history of Julington Creek Baseball!

It all started back on April 28^th with their first double header as a newly selected ROOKIE 8A all-star team. Over the course of the next three months of practicing and/or playing games six days a week, the kids grew together as a family. They learned how to play great defense, allowing only five runs a game, and they became a scoring machine averaging 10 runs per game during the season

The SLAMMERS played 35 games over the summer. In Ocala, the Slammers took the District Championship with a 3-0 series sweep! This championship led to the State Championship in Palm Beach Gardens, where the Slammers again went undefeated, claiming the State Championship title! As State Champions, the Slammers would now represent the state of Florida at the Southeast Regional Tournament in Newport News, Virginia, where twenty teams from six different states (representing well over 500 hundred teams) competed for the championship title (essentially the World series for 8 yr olds)!

In the short two weeks between the State Tournament and the Southeast Regional Tournament, the Slammers had the difficult challenge of learning how to hit off a new pitching machine. A wheeled pitching machine was standard all summer, but in preparing for regionals the boys now had to learn how to hit off a sling machine.

However, the Slammers did not seemed deterred by this new challenge of a different pitching machine. The regional tournament started with double header victories on the first day against the Virginia and Tennessee State Champions. The next day the Slammers completed a 3-0 record by defeating Alabama and outscoring their first 3 opponents by 53-6. This earned the team a spot in the semifinals in the National League (versus American League) bracket on Saturday. The Slammers faced Florida’s Runner-up Champion, Okeeheelee. Being down 6-4 in the top of the 6^th inning, the Slammers came back to score 4 runs to win 8-6, after holding them on the bottom the 6^th. The next day, the Slammers beat Indian Trail (North Carolina) to claim the National League Champion title of the tournament!

As National League Champions, they faced the American League Champions, West Raleigh. In the end, the slammers fell one game short by losing this game, but captured the Southeastern Regional Runner-up title. What a run and great accomplishment for this group of young 8 yr olds! A memory that will never be forgotten by every player and family member who experienced any part of this wonderful experience!

The SLAMMERS would like to thank the following GOLD & SILVER sponsors who made our success possible this all-stars season:

GOLD LEVEL: CAA, Custom Ad-Pro Inc, John Crowell Insurance, Eastwind, Estate Planning Concepts, LLC, Jacksonville Advanced Machining, JCB, Moore Surveying & Design, Rick & Patty Sikorski of Weichert Realtors, Total Logistic Control, Jim Wheeler, and Dona Wood.

SILVER SPONSORS: Advantage Printing & Laminating and Signs, Abeer Bateh of Magnolia Properties, Associated Printing Productions, Best Fence, Jack Boyd, Scott & Melode Bradley, Brucci’s Pizza, Cabell Insurance & Financial Services, Causey’s Land Development Group, Dr. Harold Chandler, John Cody, CornerStone Homes, Dick’s Wings and Grill in Mandarin, Eclectic Floors, Jerry Edwards, Fine Things, Fulfillment Distribution Center, JCB Bearcats, JCB Stingrays, Johnson’s Lawn Care, J.L. Smith Construction, Julington Creek Tree Service, Law Offices of Shorstein & Lee, Lazer Spot, Dee & Beverly Lichty, Mayhugh Drugs, Charles and Patty McKinney, Merrill Lynch – Chris Thompson, Moe’s, Chris Neeley, Nestle Waters of North America, Joe Pacetti Mortgage, Pam Sather-I Pick Paint Color, Preferred Real Estate Group, Publix, Amy Quinn, Robert Roldan, Dr. Sam Hanania, Sawcross, Seaboard Waste Systems, The Holmes Organisation Insurance & Bonds, Michael Kenney, Trae Wolfe Prudential Network Realty, Triple Crown Services, Tritt & Franson, PA, Truss Family, V-BLOX Corporation, William Bartram Scenic & Historic Highway Corridor Management Council, and Julington Creek Baseball.

Thank you for your support of Julington Creek Baseball!!!