PEFYA Majors All-Stars earn berth in D1 World Series, state final

The Prince Edward-Farmville Youth Association (PEFYA) Majors all-star team came into this summer surrounded by high expectations, and Wednesday night in Victoria, the boys proved the hype was justified.

Playing in their fourth straight elimination game, this time without injured star Harold Landis, the PEFYA All-Stars came together and orchestrated a 13-4 victory over the Prince George all-star team in the 2019 Dixie Youth Baseball Major League State Tournament, clinching berths in the state title game and in the Division 1 (D1) Major League World Series.

The state title game is now set for 6 p.m. Friday against the Hopewell all-star team. The contest was moved from its originally scheduled 7 p.m. Thursday time slot due to rain.

PEFYA Majors Manager Mark Simon said Wednesday’s victory “means everything to me because it’s for the kids.

“They proved something tonight, big time, to themselves and to everybody else,” he continued. “The main message I gave them after the game, too, is telling them how proud I was of them because I’ve never seen a group where they respond so well when their backs are against the wall. From losing the first game (of the double-elimination state tourney) to losing Harold to take your pick — when the chips are down is when these kids come through and perform their best.”

It was the second night in a row in which the PEFYA boys defeated Prince George, which had been the last unbeaten team in the tournament.

On Wednesday, Prince George held a 2-0 lead going into the fourth inning, but Prince Edward-Farmville poured in all 13 of its runs in the final three innings.

PEFYA grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fourth. Then in the top of the fifth, M.J. Holman broke the game open with a no-out three-run homer, and PEFYA entered the bottom of the inning with a 9-2 lead.

“All the time, I say, ‘Hitting is contagious,’” Simon said. “… M.J. got that home run, and all of a sudden, the floodgates just opened.”

Prince George was able to make the score 9-4 in the bottom of the fifth and almost scored several more. With the bases loaded and two outs, Prince George launched a hit to deep center field, but Holman came up with a clutch catch.

“If he doesn’t catch that ball, it definitely clears the bases because it was two outs, so everybody was running on contact,” Simon said.

Noah Boehmer helped PEFYA bring in more insurance runs in the top of the sixth.

“It was a big, big, big night for Noah,” Simon said, confirming that he threw seven strikeouts across four and two-third innings and produced two doubles and an RBI on offense.

Josh Simon recorded two hits and two runs scored while also successfully closing the game on the mound after coming on in the fifth with bases loaded. In the sixth, he threw a strikeout and registered the game-ending putout.

Kam Ligon finished with three hits and three RBIs.

Manager Simon said Ligon was feeling down on himself early, prompting a heart-to-heart chat between manager and player.

“He grew up a little bit today,” Simon said. “He really did. He showed me something by the way he responded to our talking and came through and had a great game after that.”

Clevante Watkins had two hits and two runs scored, and Khris Ligon scored two runs as a courtesy runner for Boehmer.

Landis injured his elbow while pitching in Tuesday’s 8-6 victory over Prince George, and he will be out for the remainder of the tournament.

This meant Simon needed to make changes in the lineup Wednesday, and they worked. One of them was moving Barrett Motter to the six hole in the batting order.

“Motter has really, really earned his way up the roster to be one of our most productive players,” Simon said.

Much was expected from the PEFYA Majors All-Stars this year because 10 out of the 12 players on the team were part of the PEFYA Minors all-star squad that won the district and state tournaments in 2017.

Simon recalled how the 2017 team clinched the district title, entering the bottom of the sixth inning down by nine runs to Lunenburg, then down by seven runs with two outs and two strikes on a batter. The PEFYA Minors came back to win 23-22.

“As amazing as an accomplishment as that was, this is at least as good what we were able to accomplish this week by losing the first game and then coming back and running off wins like we have with our backs against the wall and every reason in the world to pack it in …,” Simon said.

He noted focusing on this resilience when talking to the boys after Wednesday’s victory.

“I told them, I said, ‘That’s going to make you guys successful men when you get older and you become adults, whether you’re having a family, having a career,’” he said. “I said, ‘Being able to perform and being able to step up when things don’t go your way and when your backs are against the wall, it’s a great quality to have,’ and every single one of them has it.”

The PEFYA All-Stars will represent Virginia in the 2019 Dixie Youth Baseball D1 Major League World Series in Ruston, Louisiana, starting Saturday, Aug. 3.

In Tuesday’s win against Prince George, Landis was outstanding on the mound, throwing 10 strikeouts across four and two-third innings.

“The defense played well behind him the few times that he needed them, and we hit the ball very well last night against a good defense and good pitching,” Simon said Wednesday afternoon.

Motter was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Josh Simon went 2-for-2 with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored. Holman drew two walks and scored twice, and Boehmer had a two-run double.

The game was scoreless until the fourth inning when PEFYA scored seven runs.

Prior to that contest, Prince Edward-Farmville defeated the Buckingham All-Stars 9-5 on Monday in a game that was largely played Sunday before lightning interrupted it in the bottom of the fifth inning and rain pushed it to Monday with the score 9-5.

Manager Simon praised his team for maintaining its intensity Monday, efficiently completing the game in 11 minutes.

Boehmer pitched well, Simon said. On offense, Josh Simon went 3-for-3 and scored twice. Kam Ligon went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Landis went 2-for-2 and scored thrice, and Motter went 2-for-2.