Coaches of the Buckingham County Youth League T-ball All-Star team wish there was a state or World Series tournament to go to at the T-ball level. It’s easy to understand why given how dominant their squad was in the recent Dixie Youth Baseball T-ball District 4 Tournament in Goochland.

T-ball goes only to the district level, and the Buckingham team went 4-0 in the tourney, outscoring its opponents 92-37 on its way to claiming the championship.

“They were awesome,” Head Coach Tony Green said of his players. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids. They did amazing throughout. We had about a week of practice, so they’re coming straight off of regular T-ball season to a week of all-star practice, and then we jump right into all-stars. So we had fun doing it, but it was a little bit on the stressful side, not knowing what you’re going into with just a little bit of practice.”

Stress can fade away, though, with big victories, which the Buckingham team made routine.

On June 23, the squad opened its tournament run with a 21-5 win over the Amelia All-Star team.

After a bye the next day, Buckingham topped Cumberland’s All-Star team 24-8 on June 25.

Rain on June 26 forced Green’s squad into a doubleheader June 27. The team opened with a 20-5 win in a rematch with Cumberland and ended the day and the tourney with a 27-19 victory over Amelia.

Though Buckingham’s last game was its closest, Green said it was also his team’s best.

“Amelia had really put in some work, but our boys were coming off of a game previously,” he said. “They had just played Cumberland, so they were tired, and we didn’t get to start that game until about 7:30. So it’s 7:30 at night, and you’ve got a bunch of kids that are sleepy and tired, but they showed up, and they did a great job. They really made me proud.”

Identifying the key to what helped his group of 5- to 7-year-olds be so dominant, Green said it was “a lot of support from all of our coaches and parents and just the youth league in general. Everybody is awesome, and I really appreciate everything that everybody does down there.”

He noted that though he and his team did not know what they were going up against in the tournament because all of the teams were new to them, his players proved adaptable and resilient.

“The kids, they were willing to learn, play different positions and just step up and be a real part of the team, and I was proud of them,” he said.

Of the 12 players on the roster, Green said, “Probably more than half are going up to Coach Pitch next year. But yeah, I’ll be going up with them, so I’ll be looking forward to another great year next year.”