WARNER ROBINS -- Team-building exercises have certainly paid off for the Georgia team in the Little League Southeastern Regional tournament.
In one exercise, the players have held hands and run to a fence while chanting team slogans. In another, players carry teammates and again chant the slogans.
All in all, Georgia coach Buddy Deal said the team has learned what its focus should be.
“It’s all about the team, and these guys get that,” Deal said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. They have a never-say-die attitude, and they never blink. I’ve never seen them blink, even when they get down or get into some trouble. They never hang their heads and say, ‘This is hopeless.’ They just continue to battle.”
Nothing has seemed hopeless for the Georgia team even as it has faced some tough times in the tournament.
After beating Tennessee 7-3 on Friday, Georgia had to fight and claw for a 7-6 win over Alabama on Saturday morning after entering the sixth inning trailing by one run.
On Monday night, Georgia trailed by two runs entering the fifth, but it scored two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth for a 5-3 victory.
That win lifted Georgia into the semifinal round against West Virginia at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, while Florida faces Alabama in the other semifinal at 7 p.m. Both games will be televised by ESPN2. The championship is at 8 p.m. on Friday.
“We knew what we were in for (Monday night),” Deal said. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and it was. We just had to hang around and get the key hit we needed.”
Georgia got the big hits Monday from Austin Burnette, who helped his team overcome its 12 strikeouts at the plate.
With his team trailing 3-1 in the fifth inning, Burnette ripped a two-run triple to tie the game. He came through in the clutch again in the sixth with a two-run single for the winning runs.
“We struck out more in that game than we ever have, but the kids just took it in stride,” Deal said. “They didn’t get down on themselves, and that was the most adversity we have faced as a team. They just stayed with it and kept fighting.”
West Virginia finished 2-1 in pool play, and it beat Virginia on Monday in a game it had to win to advance. After losing 5-2 to Florida on Friday, West Virginia beat South Carolina 8-6 on Saturday and Virginia 11-3.
“They can hit the ball, and we know that,” Deal said of the West Virginia players. “They put the ball in play and force you to play defense, and we’re going to have to play strong defense. We pride ourselves in that, and we’re going to have to continue to do that.
“It’s going to be a great game, and we’re really looking forward to it.”
