BROWNSTOWN
Going into the USSSA 10U State Tournament, Brownstown baseball boasted the only true rec. league team in the field.
While the other teams could pick and choose players from across a range of communities for their open travel squads, all of Brownstown’s players lived within 10 miles of the youth diamonds.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
The 10U program proved any doubters wrong from June 22-24, going 6-0 to bring a state championship back to the community.
Coach Trent Shelton said that the biggest factor in winning the title was the bond between the kids.
“They’re a team. They work well together and are excited for each other,” he said. “The philosophy I built this team around is ‘play the next play.’ Are we going to strike out? Yes. Are we going to make mistakes? Yes. Just play the next play. Don’t get down on yourself and keep your head up. If they do something good, they are excited for each other. They are there for each other.”
The USSSA state baseball tournament, which featured 20 teams in Brownstown’s division, was held in Mooresville.
Brownstown went 2-0 in pool play before defeating the Oaklandon Bombers 7-5 to open draw play.
On championship Sunday, Brownstown topped Indiana Spikes American 10U Huebner 12-7 in the quarterfinals before beating Bases Loaded Bombers 7-2 to set up a championship game with the Edgewood Bulldogs.
In the final, Brownstown left little doubt as they secured the title by beating the Bulldogs 11-3.
“Going into this tournament, we wanted to be competitive all the way through,” Shelton said. “You just keep going one game at a time. I had them in the huddle one time and told them that they were in the elite eight. They were excited and asked if they wanted to be in the final four. When we got there, I asked if they wanted to be in the finals and someone said ‘no. we want to win it all.’ I told them I love this team and to go have fun.”
Player Drew Shelton said that the team played together during the tournament.
“We all picked each other up when we were down,” he said. “We played well as a team.”
Five of the nine total players for Brownstown both pitched and played catcher. Coach Shelton said one of the challenges was making sure they didn’t overwork the kids’ arms.
Coach Shelton said that the team is constantly trying to get better by facing tougher competition, and that the team has played together since they were six-years-old.
“In order to get better, you need to play better opponents,” coach Shelton said. “We don’t want to go and dominate a tournament 13-1. We also don’t want to get beat by that. These guys are there for each other and work hard. Their practices are pretty intense. The big thing that makes me happy, though, is that they’re having fun.”
To celebrate the team’s accomplishments, local businesses changed their signage to congratulate the boys of summer. The team also rode a firetruck around town with their trophies.
“We always kept our heads up and kept on going,” said player lane Pendleton. “It felt really good. We rode around town and everyone watched us.”
It wasn’t the first tournament the 10U team had won this season. They went 5-0 to win the USSSA Slumpbuster NIT, in Columbus, back in May.
The team still has two tournaments left on its schedule, including this weekend in Noblesville.
While the players are wrapping up the baseball schedule, they’re also gearing up for fall sports.
“Being a small community, everyone plays everything,” Coach Shelton said. “These guys have already started football. Usually during football season they will pick up basketball. After that, during basketball, there will be a couple nights where we throw baseballs around.”