8U All-star boys finish third in state tournament

The Dodge County 8 and under (8U) boys all-stars competed this past weekend in the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) state tournament. The boys fought hard and placed third in the state after finishing second in their sub-district.
The Dodge team faced Putnam County in the first round and cruised to a 25 to three win in just three innings of work. In the second round the boys faced the eventual second place team from Jeff Davis. The young Dodge team played their best defensive game for four innings but lost their three to two lead in the fifth and eventually lost 10 to three.
With the boys falling to the lower brackets, they bounced back with a final at bat 14 to 13 win over a very tough Berrien team. Next up for Dodge was the host team of Screven County who had fought hard to remain in the tournament by upsetting some good teams. Dodge took the lead early and never looked back and defeated the Screven County team 13 to six.
The play-in game for the state championship was next for the 8U team facing once again the powerful team from Jeff Davis. The Dodge crew fought hard but were just over matched after playing three games in one day, including some playing with sickness, and lost 13 to one.
The eventually Class C State Champions, Evans County, was also from the Dodge District. The Dodge team has nothing to hang their heads about after playing in such a tough district and finishing third in the state. The coaching staff would like to thank the boys for their hard work and representation of Dodge County, as well as, the parents that put up with the long hours to get to this point.
Team members are (front row, l-r) Tye Moore, Landon Fordham, Zamiyan McDuffie, Jake Rogers, Gavin Fordham and Jarris Coney; (middle row, l-r) Jackson Stokes, Grant Goodman, Ashton Pitts, Riley Williams, Landon Walker and Mason Yeomans; (back row, l-r) assistant coach, Brian Yeomans; head coach, Jayme Fordham; assistant coaches Donny Fordham and Bryan Williams.