Russell Hedges
With losses by the Bossier Nationals and the Bossier 13s All-Stars Tuesday, another Bossier Parish All-Star season is in the books.
And it’s one Bossier City and Bossier Parish can be proud of.
Six parish teams won state championships. One, the Bossier City 7-8 Machine Pitch All-Stars, won a World Series.
There was something new this summer.
For the first time in recent memory, a Bossier City team won the Little League 11-12 state tournament.
That team — the Bossier Nationals — did more than hold their own in the Little League Southwestern Regional in Waco, Texas.
The Nationals finished second in their pool and advanced to the semifinals where they lost to Las Cruces, N.M., 9-3.
More important than wins and losses, though, is the priceless memories the Bossier players (and their parents) made.
The semifinal game was broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Who knows what the future holds, but that will likely be the only time most of the players will get to play on national TV.
I’m sure every one of them will have a tape of the game.
Yes, they might not enjoy reliving the loss, but they will certainly get a kick out of listening to the announcers’ comments about them.
It’s something they can show and tell their children about some day.
The team also blazed a path for other parish Little League teams to follow.
Future teams can look to the 2013 Nationals and say, hey, if they did it, why can’t we?
While they didn’t get a chance to play on national TV, the Bossier All-Stars softball team also got a chance to go to Waco and play in the regional after winning the state title.
Parish teams have long enjoyed success on a statewide level in Dixie ball and this summer was no exception.
Four teams won state titles — the Benton AAA (10s) All-Stars, the Haughton O-Zone (11-12) All-Stars, the Bossier Junior Boys (13s) All-Stars and the Bossier Boys (14s) All-Stars.
The Bossier City 7-8 Machine Pitch All-Stars finished as the state runner-up but went on to win the World Series. Haughton was third.
A great summer, indeed.
Russell Hedges is the sports editor of The Bossier Press-Tribune. You can contact him by e-mail at rhedges@bossierpress.com
