Daily Sun

The Golden Circle is no stranger to Texas Teen-Age Baseball state champions.

Area teams wasted no time in the new millennium as the Mildred Brewers won back-to-back Senior Midget crowns in 2000 and 2001 and the Corsicana Giants also claimed Senior Midget supremacy in 2002.

The Dawson Bulldogs were the best T-Ball team in Texas in 2001, while the Corsicana Yankees and Corsicana Cubs claimed T-Ball and Senior Midget state championships, respectively, in 2005.

The Golden Circle could be home to five more of the state’s best — the Corsicana Braves, Corsicana Cardinals, Mildred Mudcats, Dawson Bulldogs and Corsicana Indians — with impressive representation in every level area teams could possibly be in at next week’s state tournaments.

Corsicana Braves, T-Ball

Three times was a charm for the Corsicana Braves.

The Braves (18-0) needed three chances to bring home a district crown. Next week Corsicana aims for loftier goals when the TTAB T-Ball State Tournament kicks off Monday in West.

The team conducted a serious practice Tuesday, Braves head coach Stan Farmer Jr. said, and a more fun workout on Wednesday.

“We’re ready,” Farmer said. “They were talking about winning state (Wednesday). They understand it now after winning district.”

Dominating district might have been a more accurate description. Corsicana outscored its opponents, 88-34, last week in Blooming Grove and did not have to play a full game in three chances.

“We have some tough ball ahead,” Farmer said. “If we play like we did in district, we will be a hard team to beat. It will take a heck of a team to beat us. The teams we beat in district were good teams.”

Tourney host West Parkway completes the 10-team field at state along with Corsicana and the Malakoff Longhorns, Troup Rattlers, Hillsboro Raptors, Palmer Rangers, Redwater Chicken Littles, Riesel J&S;, China Spring Astros and Salado Red Hawks.

The teams will draw for tournament seeding Sunday in West, and every representative will play on Monday.

Great T-Ball and all the kolaches one can eat are guaranteed at local eateries for what Farmer expects will be a strong following at the small town on Interstate 35.

A state title at the end of the week would be even better, giving the area two T-Ball state champions in as many years after the Corsicana Yankees’ perfect 26-0 run in 2005.

“We will come back each day (and not stay overnight),” Farmer said. “Hopefully, if we can make it to the state championship, we will stay overnight and let the kids have some fun.”

Corsicana Cardinals, Machine Pitch

The Corsicana Cardinals showed constant improvement on the way to the District 2 Machine Pitch crown earlier this month in Blooming Grove.

Corsicana (18-0) will try to keep that momentum going Monday in Belton when it invades the 12-team TTAB Machine Pitch Tournament along with tourney hosts Belton Texans, Belton Rockets, Belton Wranglers and Belton Bearcats and the Cisco Storm, Palmer Longhorns, Moody Braves, Mexia Flatts, Pleasant Grove Longhorns, Quitman Braves and Rusk Storm.

Cardinals head coach Mike Alonzo said the city championship, district title and a state crown were goals the team set earlier in the season. Now, only one objective remains this summer.

“We are fired up (about going to state),” Alonzo said after his squad won the district title two Thursdays ago. “People know we are for real. Our first goal was to win city, and our second goal was to win district. Now we want to win it all.”

The Cardinals join the Corsicana Reds (2005) and the Corsicana Red Sox (2004) as area representatives on the machine pitch state level in recent years. However, neither team earned the distinction of being the best in Texas.

Mildred Mudcats, Senior Midget

Although none of the Mildred Mudcats’ players have state tournament experience, defeating the defending state champion Corsicana Cubs twice at the district tournament may have be all the experience needed for the TTAB Senior Midget District 12 champs.

The Mudcats (13-2) defeated the Cubs (21-3) in the second championship game, 15-1, to become the District 12 representative at the state tournament at Bluebonnet Park in Ennis.

Mudcats coach Kirby Hill said it gave their team a huge boost of confidence to beat a good team like the Cubs.

“(The team is) really laid back and ready to go,” Hill said. “My kids are really confident right now.”

Mudcats pitcher Allen Knight, who only pitched four innings in the district tournament due to an arm injury, is healthy and will join the Mudcats rotation. Hill said he was impressed with the way Mudcats’ players Connor Hill and Ben Goodrich picked up where Knight left off.

Also look for Goodrich to bring the power to Ennis. Hill said Goodrich launched a 270-foot rocket in practice last week.

“He has the best, natural power-hitting swing for his age,” Hill said.

The Mudcats are the only Golden Circle team able to use proximity to their advantage, with the tournament only 20 miles up the interstate.

“It’s definitely a bonus,” Hill said. “Our kids are gonna be in the comfort of their home. We won’t have to leave (to the ballpark) until 4 p.m.”

Hill said he was not sure about the talent level of many of the teams in the tourney, but said if they made it this far, the teams had to be pretty good. He mentioned he heard the China Spring Bears could be a tough matchup.

The Mudcats will now have the opportunity to bring the state championship back to the Golden Circle as they head up the road to face 14 other hungry teams for a shot at the title.

Dawson Bulldogs, Freshman

A strong will to overcome adversity fueled the Dawson Bulldogs to the District 9 Freshman Tournament title last week.

Bud Renfro’s squad will continue to lean on intangibles that cannot be measured statistically Monday when it starts the TTAB Freshman State Tournament in Killeen.

Tourney hosts Killeen Express and Killeen Astros join Dawson and the Valley Mills Bears, Belton Orioles, Edgewood Bulldogs, Whitehouse Rangers, Price Distributing, DeKalb Rangers and Brownwood Cardinals in the 10-team field.

“The boys just don’t want to quit,” said Renfro, who helped lead five of the current team members to the T-Ball state title in 2001. “My assistant coaches Mark Martinez and Keith Melton keep them pepped up. They want to win (it all). Hopefully we can draw from the experience (of 2001).”

Renfro said the Bulldogs (14-3) have used the high school’s pitching machine this week in practice to prepare themselves for the curveballs and off-speed pitches they will likely see in Killeen. Pitching was key for Dawson last week as seven different players performed well on the mound when the team roared through the loser’s bracket.

The Bulldogs’ run was highlighted Friday night by a rally from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning against Richland-Chambers rival, Navarro, in the second championship game. Renfro admits he has a limited knowledge about the teams in Killeen.

“We don’t know anything about any of the teams,” Renfro said. “Everybody has beaten somebody to get to this point. We’ve done a little scouting. We’ve looked at Web sites.”

The teams draw for tournament seeding 2:30 p.m. Sunday, preceding a barbecue and pool party 4-7 p.m. Games will start 9 a.m. Monday and Tuesday and last well into the night with the first championship contest slated for Thursday morning.

“The kids are extremely excited,” Renfro said. “We’ve had a good week of practice. They’re ready.”

Each representative is guaranteed at least two days of action. The Dawson contingent plans on spending the night the early part of the week, and hopefully longer if everything goes as planned.

“We are going to have some fun,” Renfro said, “but all week the kids have talked about winning the championship trophy.”

Corsicana Indians, Junior

Indians coach Charlie Avery is charting in familiar waters.

This year’s TTAB Junior State Tournament will mark his third appearance in the past four years. Avery will take that experience to Eastland Monday, where the Indians will face seven other teams from around the state.

Avery will take the things he’s learned and use them to his advantage.

“I’m just normally very laid back with my team,” Avery said. “You get over there and you’re just a lot more tense. If I’m tense, the team might notice.”

The Indians (17-2) had a tremendous showing at the district tournament in Mildred two weeks ago, winning the championship without suffering a loss. The team displayed good hitting all week.

Although Avery’s team is younger than in year’s past, he said the state experience is present in a few of the players who won state with the Corsicana Giants in 2002. The Indians’ Layton Avery, Brandon Reyes, Mario Castaneda and Kyle Lee Ward will bring that winning edge three hours northwest to the town located on Interstate 20 in between Abilene and Fort Worth.

Avery said all his players will be back healthy and ready, including Allen Knight. The Indians reliever pitched a few innings in the district championship game and left in the sixth when his arm began tightening. Knight will return to the pitching rotation to strengthen the already tough Indians battery.

Catcher Jon Neal will be on the receiving end of those pitches next week as the lefty impressed tournament goers in Mildred, seldom allowing a pitch to reach the backstop.

Avery said his team scrimmaged one of the Mexia state tournament teams but does not know much about the rest of the field.

Practice has been good this week for Avery. The next step for the Indians coach will be to head to the tournament site, and hopefully return with some hardware.

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Phillip Barnhard may be contacted via e-mail at pbarnhard@corsicanadailysun.com.

TTAB Junior State Tournament Team Capsules

Eastland

CORSICANA INDIANS

Coaches: Charlie Avery, Brittney Simon

Record: 17-2

Road to state: 1st in Corsicana League, District 5 champions



EASTLAND RED

Road to state: District 1 East champions (automatic bye to state tourney)



CLYDE BULLDOGS

Road to state: District 1 West champions (automatic bye to state tourney)



BROWNWOOD RANGERS

Road to state: District 2 champions



HAWLEY RED SOX

Road to state: District 3 champions



RED OAK HAWKS

Road to state: District 4 champions



PARKVIEW

DIAMONDBACKS

Road to state: District 6 champions



MONAHANS YANKEES

Road to state: District 7 champions



TTAB Freshman State Tournament Team Capsules

Killeen

DAWSON BULLDOGS

Coaches: Bud Renfro, Keith Melton, Mark Martinez

Record: 14-3

Road to state: Richland-Chambers runner-up, District 9 champions



KILLEEN EXPRESS

Road to state: District 1 champions (automatic bye to state tourney)



VALLEY MILLS BEARS

Road to state: District 2 champions



BELTON ORIOLES

Road to state: District 3 champions



KILLEEN ASTROS

Road to state: District 4 champions



EDGEWOOD BULLDOGS

Road to state: District 5 champions



WHITEHOUSE RANGERS

Road to state: District 6 champions



PRICE DISTRIBUTING

Road to state: District 7 champions



DeKALB RANGERS

Road to state: District 8 champions



BROWNWOOD

CARDINALS

Road to state: District 10 champions



TTAB Senior Midget State Tournament Team Capsules

Ennis

MILDRED MUDCATS

Coaches: Kirby Hill, Terry Knight, Richard Knight, Darrell Wallace

Record: 13-2

Road to state: 1st in Richland Chambers League, District 12 champions



FAMILY 1ST HOSPICE

Road to state: District 1 American champions (automatic bye to state tourney)



ENNIS STATE BANK

Road to state: District 1 National champions (automatic bye to state tourney)



LINDALE MARLINS

Road to state: District 2 champions



EARLY PURPLE

Road to state: District 3 champions



CHINA SPRING BEARS

Road to state: District 4 champions



KUCERA INSURANCE

Road to state: District 5 champions



FERRIS STALLIONS

Road to state: District 6 champions



MILFORD ROCKHOUNDS

Road to state: District 7 champions



REDWATER GIANTS

Road to state: District 8 champions



SALADO DRAGONS

Road to state: District 9 champions



KILLEEN NATIONALS

Road to state: District 10 champions



ATHENS ORIOLES

Road to state: District 11 champions



RUSK MUCKDOGS

Road to state: District 13 champions



WHITEHOUSE MOHAWKS

Road to state: District 14 champions



TTAB Machine Pitch State Tournament Team Capsules

Belton

CORSICANA CARDINALS

Coaches: Mike Alonzo, Kyle Ward, David Richardson

Record: 18-0

Road to state: 1st in Corsicana League, District 2 champions



BELTON TEXANS

Road to state: District 1 champions (automatic bye to state tourney)



BELTON ROCKETS

Road to state: District 1 champions (automatic bye to state tourney)



BELTON WRANGLERS

Road to state: District 1 champions (automatic bye to state tourney)



CISCO STORM

Road to state: District 3 champions



PALMER LONGHORNS

Road to state: District 4 champions



MOODY BRAVES

Road to state: District 5 champions



BELTON BEARCATS

Road to state: District 6 champions



MEXIA FLATTS

Road to state: District 7 champions



PLEASANT GROVE LONGHORNS

Road to state: District 8 champions



QUITMAN BRAVES

Road to state: District 9 champions



RUSK STORM

Road to state: District 10 champions



TTAB T-Ball State Tournament Team Capsules

West

CORSICANA BRAVES

Coaches: Stan Farmer Jr., Steve Petty, Derrick Dabasy, Heath Reynolds

Record: 18-0

Road to state: 1st in Corsicana League, District 3 champions



WEST PARKWAY

Road to state: District 1 champions (automatic bye to state tourney)



MALAKOFF LONGHORNS

Road to state: District 2 champions



TROUP RATTLERS

Road to state: District 4 champions



HILLSBORO RAPTORS

Road to state: District 5 champions



PALMER RANGERS

Road to state: District 6 champions



REDWATER CHICKEN LITTLES

Road to state: District 7 champions



RIESEL J&S;

Road to state: District 8 champions



CHINA SPRING ASTROS

Road to state: District 9 champions



SALADO RED HAWKS

Road to state: District 10 champions