Also earn sportsmanship award

The Buckingham County Angels all-star team emerged last week as both the champions and the sportsmanship award winners of the double-elimination 2019 Dixie Softball Angels District 5 Tournament in Amelia, advancing to the state tourney beginning July 19 in Sutherland.

The Buckingham All-Stars began their run in the district tournament June 21 with an 8-3 win against the Goochland all-star team. The next day, they topped the Fluvanna all-star team 11-1, and the day after that, they beat the Amelia all-star team 14-6.

Beginning play in the championship round June 24, Buckingham experienced its first loss, falling 11-1 to the Powhatan All-Stars. But Buckingham bounced back the next day to win a high-scoring rematch, 21-14, clinching the title.

Buckingham Angels Manager Brandon Morris expressed joy in his team’s achievement, noting it extends beyond this year and establishes a track record of success.

“This group of girls, this is actually their second year,” he said. “Of course, last year, we were Darlings, so it’s almost the exact same group that we took to state last year. So for me, it’s a pretty great accomplishment for these girls to do it back-to-back years — win the district tournament and make it to state. All I can say is (I’m) proud of all of them. They all work hard, and they definitely deserve to be where they’re at.”

Asked if any of his team’s five games in this year’s district tourney jumped out to him as the squad’s best performance, Morris said, “I would definitely say the championship round, especially after taking a loss in that first championship round. They came back with good attitudes. They never gave up. They kept fighting. They got down in that game, and then there at the end, they all came together and rallied and put the bats on the balls.

“And I had two pitchers during that game,” the manager continued. “Chloe Jamerson, she started the game off and kind of kept it close for us, and then Morgan Morris, she finished it out for us. And they both did an amazing job just keeping the game close enough for us to get there to the end and to seal it.”

Jamerson pitched the first three innings of the title-winning game, and Morgan Morris pitched the last two.

The manager also highlighted the offensive performance of Mollie Walker in that contest.

“She had a couple of singles and a triple,” he said. “Yeah, she definitely made a big difference when it came to the bats for us. She pushed some runs in. So I would definitely mention her, because she was probably one of my strongest offensive players and not only in the championship round, but throughout the tournament she did very well hitting the ball.”

Manager Morris then shared his reaction to his title-clinching team also earning the district tourney sportsmanship award.

“Generally, it doesn’t happen where somebody wins the championship round and they win (the) sportsmanship (award),” he said. “It’s just pretty rare for that to happen, but in all honesty, me and my other two coaches, we definitely preach about sportsmanship. Winning games is not everything, and if you can’t do it the right way, if you can’t be sportsmen about it and cheer on other teams and cheer on other players, it’s not worth being out there.

“So we really strive hard to look at everybody in our district, honestly, as friends and as teammates as well, because there’s no point in going out there and yelling and screaming and carrying on foolishness when you’ve got a bunch of 9- and 10-year-old girls,” he continued. “So basically, for us, it’s just trying to be good role models for these kids, not only on our team but throughout the whole district, and hopefully, later on in life, they see that too. So hopefully it’s a good life lesson for them.”

The Buckingham Angels All-Stars will play in the opening game of the 2019 Dixie Softball Angels State Tournament at 4 p.m. on Friday, July 19, at the Dinwiddie Sports Complex in Sutherland.