In fact, the Inverness All-Stars baseball squad have done nearly everything right at the Dixie Pre-Majors 15-16 World Series in Guntersville, Ala. With another win Tuesday, the squad is one of four remaining in the 12-team double-elimination tournament.
"It's a blast for me, for the coaches and for the guys," coach Jon Bolin said.
With Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Mississippi, Inverness advanced to play either Louisiana or host Guntersville at 5 p.m. today. The squad is 3-1 in the event, with three straight wins in elimination games.
"The neat thing about it is that we're finding more and more stuff about the guys every day we take the field," Bolin said. "We're getting it done with heart and soul, every day. We're finding a way to get it done. It's a great thing for us to keep moving on."
Derek DeSomma sparked the win, allowing five hits, no earned runs and no walks in a complete game. Inverness has allowed seven runs in the tournament. The defense again was solid despite its first error in the tournament.
"We're gotten pitching, defense and timely hitting," Bolin said.
Randy Hernandez's two-run single in the bottom of the fourth, scoring Nick Delguibice and Mark Xenophon, was all Inverness needed. One day earlier, Xenophon led a seven-hit attack with a single, home run and two RBIs.
"The hits have come at the right time," Bolin said. "We know the pitchers, we know how to play defense. It's just a matter of getting key hits at the right time and we have."
Chase Smith will pitch today. He's 1-0 in the tourney.
Bolin is starting to like his squad's chances of winning a championship.
"We said from Day 1, we've got the pitching to take us through this," Bolin said. "The resiliency of this club is unmatched. We've got great people behind us, great fans behind us. They've been lifting us through this thing."
