Smithfield makes Mustang, Bronco League World Series for first time in program history
Published 7:45 pm Monday, July 25, 2022
Pictured from left, top row, are coaches Bill Harpley, Billy Nelms, Cecil Dewees and Jimmy Auvil. Second row, from left are Carter Dewees, Brett Oliver, Landon Auvil, Vincent Dickens, Andy Jewell, Tucker McCormick, Grant Winslow and Henry Havlin. Kneeling from left are Ayden Harpley, Wesley Harpley, Kyle Messinea, Jaxon Williams\ and Nathan Nelson after winning their trophy from the East Zone Championship in Kempsville, Virginia. Submitted photo
Pictured from left, back row, are 12U coaches Jeff Bingham, Hank Sundburg and Brad Livesay. Not pictured is Coach Corey Hearn. In front are players Jake Gray, Colton Bingham, Tanner Keckler, Blake Darden, Alexander Santana, Noah Cox, Hank Sundburg, Tanner Brobst, Evan Canada, Jesse Hearn, Landon Westheimer, Royce Hall, Will Johnston, Ashton Livesay and Michael Ruff, after winning the sections tournament the weekend of July 9-10. Submitted photo
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Smithfield’s 12U baseball team will also be going to its own World Series in Laredo, Texas.
Smithfield’s 10U (ages 10 and under) and 12U (ages 12 and under) baseball teams are headed to their respective Mustang and Bronco League World Series tournaments for the first time in the Smithfield Recreation Association’s history.
Smithfield’s 10U team will travel to Youngsville, Louisiana, on July 28 for the double-elimination tournament, which will take place July 29 through Aug. 1 The same day, Smithfield’s 12U team will travel to Laredo, Texas, for their own July 29 – Aug. 1 tournament.
“No team has ever made it to the World Series from Smithfield and now we have two going,” said 12U Coach John Sundburg.
The 10U team will be joined by teams from Texas, California, Louisiana and even international teams from Baja California, Mexico, and Venezuela. The 12U team will also be joined by international teams from Taiwan, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, as well as U.S. teams from Texas, California and Ohio.
The 10U team’s season record stands at 25 wins and two losses. The invitation to the World Series comes on the heels of its East Zone Championship win over the weekend in Kempsville.
“We got a solid team this year,” said Coach Jimmy Auvil Jr. “The kids played their hearts out.”
Auvil attributes the team’s unprecedented success to “solid pitching,” noting the team has also scored 250 cumulative runs this season.
