TBC Elite finishes 2nd in series

TBC Elite finishes 2nd in series Brian Smith Tue, 06/18/2024 - 6:52 am X Tiger Baseball Club Elite finished second earlier this month in the Panama City Beach Global World Series, sponsored by the United States Specialty Sports Association. Courtesy photo Tiger Baseball Club Elite finished second earlier this month in the Panama City Beach Global World Series, sponsored by the United States Specialty Sports Association. Courtesy photo Tiger Baseball Club Elite’s 12U team fought back from a tough start to finish second in a World Series tournament earlierthismonth. The squad, made up of several Jacksboro boys, competed in the Panama City Beach Global World Series, held Friday, June 7 through Monday, June 10, along with more than 200 other travel teams. Head coach Billy Thompson said the trip was a great experience despite losing their first two games of the tournament. “We had some kids that had never seen the beach before or the ocean,” Thompson said. “In our first two games, we came out flat with no energy in the dugout and that’s just not us. It definitely took a minute for us to gather ourselves.” In the opener, the squad fell behind 9-1 and rebounded to post a 9-6 loss. Things got worse Saturday in game two when they fell to the Oklahoma Rays 16-0. Thompson said it was the first time the boys had lost back-toback games all season which began in March. “We had to remind the kids why we were there,” Thompson said. “We reminded them to get to bed early and not let the excitement of everything get to them. We were there to win a baseball tournament.” TBC Elite, where 10 of the 12-member team are from Jacksboro, began to turn it around. The team posted wins over two Florida teams, an Alabama squad and a 5-0 shutout of the Concord Athletics from Georgia to make it into the championship game. Solid pitching and hitting by Jaxon Self, McCoy Mower and Billy Ray Thompson got the squad going. The TBC defense tightened up with Razz Barnett, Logan Murphy, Jet Walker and Brazos Murphy doing a great job. Hayden Monroe was noted for his walk-off single versus the Alabama team. Parker Andrews and Coda Lancaster were singled out by Thompson for finding a way to get on base in some tight games. They faced old nemesis, the Oklahoma Rays, and gave them a much better game than in the first meeting, with a 7-6 loss. Thompson and fellow coach Josh Andrews received help from recent Jacksboro High School graduates Kasey Ray Swan and Kyler Swan. The pair helped with pitch calling and keeping the kids motivated, Thompson said. Thompson said the fan support at the tournament was very good, with about 100 fans making the trip.