Johnnysdad writes "Sixty-three 8U all-star teams descended on Southaven, MS last week to compete in the 2009 Dizzy Dean World Series. When the dust settled the Sandy Plains 8U Cougars Red all-star team had fought their way into 2nd place and had earned the respect of all the teams they faced.
The week started in pool play with the Cougars matched up with Adamsville, AL, LFO and Marshall County. Adamsville was up first and after scoring 2 in the bottom of the first the Cougar brick wall sat them down 1-2-3 in the next 3 innings while scoring 7-4-7 to run rule them 18-2.

Next up was LFO who was held scoreless in the first two innings only to hit a 2 run homer in the 3rd. Adding a third run in the 3rd gave them all the runs they would get as the Cougars put up 10 to beat LFO yet again.

Third up was Marshall County who were overmatched right from the first pitch. The Cougars put up 16 runs to Marshalls 1 which they got in the 4th.

Leaving pool play 3-0 and allowing a total of 6 runs while scoring 44 gave the Cougars a number 4 seed in Championship bracket play. First up was 28 seed Huffman Blue who gave it all they had but came up short with a final score of Cougars 15, Huffman 0.

Last years World Series nemesis, Starkville, MS was next up. Revenge was on the Cougars minds and they easily defeated Starkville 12-4 by holding them scoreless in 3 of 5 innings. Morris Blue Devils gave it their best shot in the 3rd bracket game only to come up short 5-2. Next up were the World Series surprise the Oregon Park Titans who had defeated all comers and came out of pool play with the number 1 seed by letting in a grand total of 2 runs. Undefeated till they ran into the Cougars who posted a 9-4 win. The Titans went into the losers bracket but should be commended for an incredible start to their World Series. The Cougars tip their caps to the Titans.

The stage was set for a rematch between the Cougars and the Acworth Warriors who had knocked the Cougars out of the Georgia State Tournament by a score of 6-4. This time the contest was very difficult for both teams as both the Cougars and the Warriors had rock solid defense and no team could get a runner across home. The final score was 1-0 in favor of the Warriors who received their run when the Cougars overthrew 3B and the ball rolled into the dugout. In DD rules each runner is awarded an extra base when the ball enters the dugout so their runner at 3B was given home. If the ball had stayed out of the dugout they would not have received that base and the game may still be going on as there were two outs and the next batter popped up for the 3rd out. This placed the Cougars in the losers bracket needing to win 1 game to get back to the Championship game. That game was against the perennially tough Oregon Park Sharks who were looking for revenge against the Cougars for knocking their sister team into the losers bracket. In a land battle between Sharks and Cougars the Cougars should win. And they did. 10-7. The Cougars were finally in the Championship game against the Acworth Warriors but needed to win two games to take the title. Acworth needed just one win and they entered the contest very cocky and assumed they already had the victory since they had beaten the Cougars twice now. Then they learned otherwise when the Cougars put up 3 runs in the first and held them scoreless through 5 complete. With one last at bat the Warriors pounded away and the Cougars bent but never broke. With 2 runs in and 2 outs on the board the Cougars held fast and got the last out to end the 1st Championship game 3-2. Things got awfully quiet on the Warriors side of the field. But the road is long with many a winding turn and the Warriors came out hard and fast in the 2nd Championship game and the Cougars fought hard but could not hang in close enough to earn a victory. The Warriors finally earned a win against the Cougars and beat them 13-2. Selected for the 2009 World Series All-Tournament Team were Isaac Bouton, Trey Yunger, Johnny Dow and Caleb Reis.

World Series Runner Up against 62 other teams is not a bad place to be at all. Especially considering the level of competition. The Cougars earned their way to 2nd place by playing better ball than the Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee State Champions and all the District Champions of those states except for Acworth. They earned the respect of the other teams with their honesty, sportsmanship, hard work and skill level. There are just too many outstanding offensive and defensive plays to list them all and besides, the Cougars win as a team and lose as a team. And it took all 12 players and 4 coaches along with all the parents, siblings, friends and coworkers to have such a fantastic season. The season ended with a 29-6 record, the SCRA Championship, the District 4 Championship, the Georgia State Sportsmanship Award and Runner Up in the Dizzy Dean World Series. All earned with class and style!

Thanks to everyone who supported us this season and thanks to Sandy Plains for allowing us to represent our organization in All-Star Baseball!

Your 2009 Sandy Plains 8U Cougars Red All-Stars are: Jordan Butler, Matthew Fettig, Zach Gunselman, Johnny Dow, Trey Yunger, Isaac Bouton, Kurtis Royalty, Jack Connelly, Jackson Fehl, Caleb Reis, Tommy Hutchins, and Jay Inglis.

Manager Alan Royalty and Coaches Gary Bouton, Jim Dow and Richard Yunger."