Babe Ruth 13-15 All Stars play the waiting game

Ever notice some of the strange scores that come out of bowl games?

A lot can happen when you have more than a month between games.

In a similar vein, the Chiefland 13-15 Babe Ruth All Stars will go nearly a month between games.

Chiefland's finest won the District 6 Tournament on June 21. They won't open State Tournament play until July 17.

It is manager Kyle Parnell and his staff?s task to keep the team sharp during a three-and-a-half week layoff.

"We're practicing and doing some scrimmaging,"Parnell said. "We're trying to schedule some practice games. Alan (Caplin) is trying to get a couple teams from the Ocala area to play against us."

Chiefland rolled through the district tournament, but will find competition much stiffer at the State Tournament.

The event will be played at Godby High in Tallahassee.

"You'll find that the bigger teams will have more 15 year olds," Parnell said. "We've got a mixture. I think we'll be competitive."

Chiefland has some strong pitching in Brent Slaughter, Jacob Reidy and Marquis Green. Parrish Parnell is a solid backstop.

There are several different infield and outfield combinations that coach Parnell can use.

Other All Stars include Bo Beauchamp, Kaleb Caplin, Shannon Wilson, Josh Martinez, Alden Davis, Kody Plemmons, Travis Wain and Cyle Brady.

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The Chiefland Minor League (9-10 year old) All Stars will play in the State Tournament beginning this Thursday, July 3, in Lake City. Chiefland will play host Lake City at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

It is a double-elimination tourney. There will be seven teams in Lake City. Chiefland went 4-0 in district play, winning every game by the 10-run rule.

The Chiefland Minors are managed by Tim Castell, who believes state will be much tougher. "You have all the district champions," he said.

Players include Dalton Hodge (P-C), Clay Brady (P-SS), Trevor Castell (P-SS), Colton Langford (1B), Chase Malloy (2B), Jake Kennedy (3B), Dustin Aldrich (CF), Gavin Smith (LF), Zach Barker (RF), Ryan Martin (LF-C), Rashad Hooper (RF) and Dalton Koonce (OF).