The Thomaston-Upson Recreation Department’s Home Plate Chili Dogs partnership is already paying dividends, with the 8U travel baseball team scoring its first tournament victory last weekend.
The team traveled to Jackson’s Daughtry Park to compete in the Win the Rings Mega Ring Event tournament.
Opening day did not go as expected for the Chili Dogs, who dropped two games on Saturday, putting the team into the silver bracket for Sunday’s matchup. The opening matchup was a tough 19-4 loss to the Macon Heavy Hitters.
The Chili Dogs worked to improve in game two and came up just short of the Hidden Valley Wolf Pack, 20-19.
But Sunday was a new day, and the team came in determined to show that it was better than what it had displayed so far.
Head Coach Chaze Hayes commented, “The second day, they showed up with a whole new attitude. They understood the assignment is all I have to say.”
The Chili Dogs blew through the competition. The first game at 1:30 p.m. pitted the Chili Dogs against the Factory Sports Training Factory Select team. The Chili Dogs limited Factory Select to just two runs while putting 12 runners across the plate.
The final game of the day pitted the Chili Dogs against the same Wolfpack team from the night prior. The Chili Dogs upended the Wolfpack, scoring a lopsided 27-14 victory to win the silver division championship.
“They blew it out of the water,” said Coach Hayes. “Everybody on the team, through the whole lineup, was knocking the fire out of the ball, turning double plays, kids laying out and catching it. Just phenomenal skills on the second day.
“I work these boys hard… It’s all on them,” he continued. “They work hard; they’re determined. Three quarters of them are football players. These kids have been putting in some true, true work.”
The 8U Home Plate Chili Dogs include Tyler Brownlee, Nash Dunn, Grady English, Canon Hayes, AJ Hill, Brooks Murphy, MJ Quiller, Levi Scott, Ryder Smith, Beckett Watson, and Chapman Zittrouer.
Team sponsors include Precision Works Gutters, LLC; Southern Crescent Realty; Central Georgia Portable Buildings; Schneider Electric; Pellicano Construction Company; WynnTrac Construction, LLC; Savi Graphics; Thomaston Hospice; The Peoples Bank of Georgia; Upson Orthopedics, Sports Medicine and Surgery; EMC Engineering Services, Inc.; SunSouth LLC; The Huckaby Foundation; Time of Essence; Haven Realty; Game Castle; Highline; The English Law Group, LLC; McGriff Insurance; Flint Contracting LLC; Parrish Construction; Lilly Jane; Big Chic Uptown; and T-U Civic Center.
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