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Both the Sumter County 12u and 10u All-Star baseball teams turned in strong performances at their respective Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) state tournaments in Statesboro, GA this past week.

The 12u team finished in seventh place and the 10u team turned in a fourth-place finish.

In the 10u machine pitch tournament, the Sumter County team got off to a good start with a 12-10 win over Emmanuel County. However, in the semifinals against Douglas/Coffee County, the boys from Sumter lost by the score of 7-2. This put Sumter into the losers’ bracket of the double elimination tournament, where they were able to bounce back with a 9-1 victory over Moultrie/Colquitt County. However, in their next game against eventual state champions Lyons, they were shut out by the score of 13-0, thus finishing in fourth place.

“Sumter County 10u boys had a great performance in the state tournament,” head coach John Taylor said. “We fell short of a championship, but the player development of these kids was incredible.”

In the 12u boys’ traditional tournament, the Sumter County 12u All-Stars got off to a rough start, losing to the Douglas/Coffee County All-Stars by the score of 13-1. This put the Sumter County team into the losers’ bracket against Summerville. The boys from Sumter were hoping to keep their state championship hopes alive with a win, but they fell to Summerville by the score of 7-2.

“I am proud of each one of the players,” 12u head coach Mike Reeves said. “They all come from great families and it shows with their positive attitudes and work ethic. They played hard each game. When you play good teams, you have to have some things go your way and that just didn’t happen this week.”

In spite of the fact that neither team was able to win their respective state championships, both the 12u and 10u Sumter County All-Star teams were tremendously successful this year.