BEAUFORT, S.C. — The Lumberton Dixie Boys Baseball 13-and-under team made a strong case for itself as one of the best teams in the field at the Dixie Boys Baseball World Series in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Only one team could beat Lumberton — the eventual tournament champions from Hattiesburg, Mississippi — as the team finished in third place.

“We obviously played pretty well,” coach Steve Stone said. “We didn’t come out with the result we wanted, but our final game, we played a great game against one of the best teams there, Mississippi. They were the only team that was capable of beating us, and they ended up winning the championship.”

Lumberton won three games in the tournament, including its first two. Lumberton beat Virginia 8-4 last Saturday and earned a 14-0 win over Florida on Sunday. Mississippi gave Lumberton its first loss in the double-elimination tournament in a 9-3 decision on Sunday.

Lumberton stayed alive Monday with a 4-0 win over South Carolina. With a championship-round berth on the line, Mississippi beat Lumberton 9-3 on Tuesday; Mississippi ultimately won the tournament title.

“As a team, we didn’t quite hit good enough to win,” Stone said. “I will say that it appeared that this World Series, Mississippi was the better team. That doesn’t necessarily mean that next year — we’ve got a lot to work on, and we know what we’ve got to do.”

The team had no standout players as everyone played a part in the squad’s success, Stone said.

“There ain’t really no names I can throw out there where one kid stood out amongst any others,” Stone said. “Our pitching and defense was the main thing that got us to where we were at. The last game, we managed to hit well, put up 14 hits; we just had too many walks, too many hit batters. But we showed a lot of heart. It was a pretty fun experience, everybody had a good time.”

Team members include Josiah Britt, Julius Goolsby, Mason Jones, Preston Locklear, Luke Lowry, Landon Ransom, Matthew Shackelford, Sam Smith, Steven Stone, Dalton Tyner and Waylon Willoughby. Steve Stone, Jeremy Britt and Jonathan Britt are the coaches.

Much of the team’s core was playing in a Dixie Youth or Dixie Boys Baseball World Series for the fifth time, experience that Stone said proved to be valuable for the group.

“It really helped them out,” he said. “There was no doubt in our mind that we belonged to be there. We knew we could play anybody. We may have come in third but we put the strongest effort up against the championship team; it was a close game all the way through.”

The Hattiesburg, Mississippi team that won the tournament will serve as tournament hosts next year for 14U, setting up a possible rematch between largely the same teams next year.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll be there next year,” Stone said. “We plan on taking that same group next year in 14U, trying to make a run at it.”

With that in mind, Stone made a point to mention a lack of systematic support for local teams that reach state and World Series tournaments in Dixie Youth and Dixie Boys Baseball and Dixie Softball.

“We’ve basically been showing up to these tournaments and showing out with very little support from our local government,” Stone said. “What we’re seeing is, at least half of these teams that are there, these teams are showing up in big tour buses with large sponsors. It’s a collective effort that these states are putting forward. We’re going out there on a shoestring budget with a lot less support.”

Stone said other teams have several comparatively higher-quality uniform and hat combinations, travel to the event in large buses and are able to stay together in the same hotel, while his team traveled via caravan and stayed in different hotels as some families could not afford a more expensive option.

With baseball or softball teams representing Lumberton and West Robeson having advanced to World Series play in each of the last several years, Stone said more preparation for such events could be going on year round, instead of scrambling to make those preparations in the week or two in between the state tournament and World Series play after a team qualifies.

“What these other states are doing is they’ve got a plan in place well ahead of time, and I’m just here to say this: we fully expect to be competing next year in the World Series again next year in Mississippi, so that gives us a whole year to get prepped and ready,” Stone said. “I’m telling them now they have the time to reach out. Every fall, spring, summer, these teams are representing our cities; it’s not a one-hit wonder.”

Nonetheless, Stone said about 50 family members of players traveled to Beaufort, South Carolina to support the team during the World Series, and the team had some of the biggest crowds at the tournament.

He thanked those that have shown the team their support.

“Thanks for all the local sponsors and businesses that didn’t hesitate to donate some money to our team, and a big thank you to Tim Locklear at the LYBA for providing us a platform to showcase our talent,” Stone said.

West Robeson coach pitch team competitive in World Series

The West Robeson coach pitch team (age 8-and-under) won two games in its Dixie Youth Baseball World Series last weekend in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

The team was 1-1 in pool play before going 1-2 in the double-elimination portion of the event.

West Robeson opened the tournament with a 17-7 win over the host team from Orangeburg in pool play on Friday before a 5-2 loss later that day to South Carolina.

Bracketed play began Saturday as West Robeson lost 4-2 to Tennessee, the eventual tournament champions.

West Robeson staved off elimination with an 8-6 win over Mississippi later Saturday, but was eliminated on Sunday with a 4-3 loss to Georgia.

Team members include: Caniyah Bullard, Jace Bullard, Jaxon Bullard, Jase Chavis, Atticus Dial, Asher Freeman, Kendall Hunt, Landon Hunt, Nixan Jacobs, Braxon Locklear and Candon Locklear. Coaches are Eric Freeman, Kim Locklear, Lathan Bullard and Caleb Jacobs.

West Robeson reached the World Series by winning the state tournament last month.

Efforts to reach coach Eric Freeman for this story were unsuccessful.