By Kyle Roberts
LAUREL, Miss. — The Ruston 12U all-star baseball team will represent Louisiana at the Diamond Youth Baseball (DYB) World Series in Laurel, Mississippi, beginning this week, capping a run that included a Louisiana state championship and dozens of practices to prepare for the next level of competition.
The 12-member all-star roster was selected from three Ruston youth teams that combined to play 10 to 12 regular-season games apiece before the top players were brought together for the postseason run. That group has had roughly 25 practices together and went 5-0 to win the state tournament at the Rustin Sports Complex in Ruston two weekends ago.
“We’re fired up,” Ruston head coach Chris Brister said. “To get to put the Ruston jersey on and compete for the city and the parish was awesome for the kids to get to do. It really felt like a high school playoff atmosphere game. For the kids to show up and take care of business and run-rule every team that we played was just a great thing to watch. You could tell they were fired up. They were focused, and from pitch one to the last pitch, they never let up.”
Ruston will travel to Laurel today and open pool play at 9 a.m. July 30 against North Carolina. Opening ceremonies follow that evening, with each state team wearing its state colors – Louisiana’s team will wear purple and gold for the occasion.
“It’s one of those special years,” Brister said. “In DYB, the 8-year-old, 10-year-old and 12-year-old years are a national World Series, so only one team from each state qualifies. We play as Ruston in the state tournament and represent Ruston DYB. Once you win, you represent the Louisiana State Championship; it’s an honor.”
Bracket play begins July 31 in a double-elimination format. Ruston’s path depends on the result of its pool-play game: a win sends the team against the loser of Virginia and Arkansas, while a loss would put Ruston against the winner of South Carolina and Tennessee.
The trip marks the third time in recent years Ruston has won a Louisiana DYB state championship, following titles at the 7U and 8U levels. The team represented Louisiana at the World Series at 8U and fell one game short of a state title at 10U before returning to the national stage at 12U.
Brister serves as head coach and manager, with Nathan Young and Lee Patton as assistant coaches. The Ruston 12U all-star roster includes Chance Butler, Slade Young, Cale Patton, Dayton Green, Ezekiel Wilson, Granger Brown, Jessie Ford, Joshua Walker, Andy Slocum, Kingston Venzant, Patrick Gillum and Mayes Brister. The players attend Ruston High and Cedar Creek.
Fans can follow Ruston’s games through GameChanger, with additional viewing details to be released closer to the team’s departure.
