Bringing the effort

It has been a long season for the Ville Platte Dixie Youth T-Ball All-Stars. But, one thing is for sure, according to head coach Nick Fontenot, these young players have given tons of effort the entire time.
“These young guys have really put everything on the line,” commented Fontenot. “They really tried to wear the Ville Platte name on their jerseys with pride and I think represented this city to the fullest with their play.”
Ville Platte took that effort to the Dixie Youth State Tournament this past weekend held at the Evangeline Parish Recreational Complex and left it all out on the field, going 3-3 and making it out of pool play as the first place team.
Ville Platte opened with a big 33-21 win over Ruston. Despite trailing 11-8 after two innings of play, the boys in blue collected 25 more runs, including 15 in the final inning, to steam roll past their opponent.
In the second pool game, Ville Platte continued the offensive power by destroying Concordia 26-8.
In that game, Ville Platte scored the maximum number of runs, seven, that can be scored in an inning three different times and held Concordia to only one run apiece in the first two innings.
A closer contest awaited Ville Platte in the third pool game, as the all-stars slid past Sabine 11-4. The Evangeline Parish crew held a 4-1 lead after the first two innings.
Sabine tied it up in the top of the third, but Ville Platte came on strong offensively, plating seven runs in the bottom of the third to close out the win.
Ville Platte slipped up in their final pool game against Tioga. The all-stars could not match Tioga’s offensive output in a 21-11 loss.
Despite the 3-1 record in pool play, Ville Platte was placed in the bracket as the first place team from their pool.
With that first place seeding, Ville Platte took on Alexandria National in their first bracket game. It was a tight contest between the two teams. However, Alexandria was five runs better than Ville Platte, as the home standing all-stars fell 18-13.
With the loss Ville Platte was in a do or die situation against Shreveport American. In that contest, both squads came to the plate ready to hit, as Shreveport out scored Ville Platte 27-21 to end the season for the all-stars.
Even though Ville Platte did not, Fontenot was still very pleased with the team’s grit and drive the entire season.
“These young players have a bright future ahead of them in the game of baseball,” said Fontenot. “They really soaked in all that we were able to teach them this season. It really has been a pleasure to coach each and everyone of them.”
Fontenot was also gracious in his thanks for the support throughout the all-star season.
“I really want to thank the parents, grandparents and fans,” said Fontenot. “They really encouraged the players and helped out tremendously. I especially want to thank my assistant coaches, Justin Johnson, Jake Veillon and Jodi Fontenot. They were coaches and role models for the players.”