BACK-TO-BACK TO STATE

Clifton boys 14U, 8U squads advance to TTAB State Tournaments after host of Bosque County youth baseball & softball teams from Clifton, Meridian & Valley Mills compete in District events

After beginning the season with its traditional Second Annual Opening Day event in March, the Clifton Youth Sports Association went on to enjoy yet another successful youth baseball and softball season.

Culminating four months of hard work and dedication, two Clifton youth baseball teams advanced to their respective Texas Teenage Baseball Association’s (TTAB) State Tournaments played last week.

Clifton also advanced seven youth baseball teams to the Texas Teenage Baseball Association’s (TTAB) District Tournaments, while Clifton sent one youth softball team to the Texas Teenage Softball Association District Tournament. Teams qualifying for the playoffs placed either first or second in their respective North Bosque Youth Baseball-Softball Association leagues last Spring.

“We had 18 teams this year and our registration numbers continue to grow,” Clifton Youth Sports Association board president Clif Kennedy said. “One of the exciting new things with the league is that several age groups have formed tournament teams that travel and play in a few extra tournaments throughout the season. That will be huge in the growth of Clifton softball and baseball programs.”

Coached by Adam Sibley, David Klumpp and Mike Davila, Clifton advanced to the TTAB Boys 8U Coach Pitch State Tournament in Hillsboro July 9-13 by winning the District 10 Tournament held in Clifton. Competing in a division with over 800 teams registered across the state, the Cubs came up just one win short of capturing the state title.

“It was an honor to be part of this team helping to lead them to accomplish so many great things over the course of the season,” Davila said. “The boys all improved by leaps and bounds. And most importantly, everyone is looking forward to playing again next season.”

After finishing league play undefeated, the Cubs extended their winning streak to 18 straight games by sweeping through the district tournament with victories over Maypearl, Clifton-Martinez, Bosqueville and West in the championship game before winning their first four games at the state tournament.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these boys and everything they accomplished this season,” Klumpp said. “They worked hard and won a lot of baseball games. But more importantly, they learned how to be good teammates and good sports on the field. I look forward to watching them play baseball for many years to come and continue to develop as both players and young leaders in this community.”

The young Cubs (19-2) opened the state tournament with a victory over Crawford, then defeated Salado, Belton and Abbott before getting knocked into the Loser’s Bracket by Grand Saline in the semifinals. Clifton then beat Abbott for a second time to earn a rematch with Grand Saline in the championship game.

“This was an exciting team to coach,” Sibley said. “These boys practiced hard throughout the season and every member of this team contributed to our success. It was an honor and a privilege to coach this team, and the entire Clifton community should be proud of the effort, attitude and sportsmanship they demonstrated all season. These boys will remember this experience for the rest of their lives and I’m excited to see them play together for years to come.”

“We are thankful to be part of the Clifton community as the Posey-Spitzer Youth Complex is one of the finest facilities in Bosque County,” Davila said. “Lastly, we couldn’t have accomplished this without the parents uniting as a single baseball family ensuring the kids had what they needed to succeed. And most importantly, spending time with their children outside of normal practice as that is where the real improvements originate.”

Coached by Chris Evans, Jose Ritz and Dayton Issacs, the Clifton Cubs 14U squad extended their four-year run of success with their third trip to the state tournament in the last four seasons. After going undefeated in league play for the fourth straight time, the Cubs rolled through the TTAB Boys 14U District 6 Tournament held in Clifton. In knocking off West, Clifton-Domel and Italy, the Cubs outscored their opponents, 39-8.

“We had a solid year,” Evans said. The Clifton boys were able to continue the winning culture that we started four seasons ago. The Cubs began playing the best baseball of the season during the district tournament.”

At the TTAB 14U State Tournament held in Chandler July 9-13, Clifton received a first-round bye in the Winner’s Bracket before losing to the Van Rebels last Wednesday morning. Dropping down to the Loser’s Bracket, the Cubs (14-2-1) were eliminated by the Bangs Legends Wednesday night.

“As a team, we were disappointed to fall short knowing that we did not play our best baseball,” Evans said. “But as coaches, we tried to highlight our successes and challenged the boys to continue their success moving into the school year. Look out for this group of boys moving into high school this year and next year to fill in roles to help the Varsity Cubs make a state run in the next several seasons.

“As coaches, we were able to see a ton of growth and development from our kids such as Carter Ritz and Elias Rodriguez stepping up to be leaders on the field, and kids like Mac Sibley and Braxton Stone taking the mound and played multiple positions when needed. Carter had a whale of season, hitting over .660, seven home runs and had 19 runs batted in. Other offensive leaders were Elias, Cooper and Keeton following close behind in batting average and RBIs. Overall, we had a strong season with some really great kids and parents.

“Also, I want to thank our pickup players Seaver Stump and Garrett McLane, from Bosqueville and Valley Mills, and their parents for their support during the postseason. I really want to thank coaches Jose Ritz and Dayton Isaacs for all the time and hard work they put into these boys to advance their skill level and knowledge of the game during the season.”

Other area baseball teams advancing to the TTAB District Tournaments include Clifton-Brown, Clifton-Williams and Valley Mills Mellgren in the Boys 6U T-Ball District 9 Tournament at Groesbeck; Clifton Martinez and Meridian-Felan in the Boys 8U Coach Pitch District 10 Tournament in Clifton; Clifton-Kennedy, Valley Mills-Spivey and Valley Mills-Herring in the Boys 10U Tight Base District 8 Tournament at Valley Mills; Valley Mills-Parkhill in the Boys 12U Open Base District 7 Tournament at Hillsboro; and Clifton-Domel in the Boys 14U District 6 Tournament at Clifton.

“We had several teams advance to the district playoffs and two teams advanced to state,” Kennedy said. “Those two groups in particular put in a lot of extra work, and it is paying dividends. I think the level of talent and coaching has improved over the past few years, which has been fun to see.”

Area softball teams advancing to the TTAS District Tournaments were Clifton-Blanton Girls 10U in the District 7 Tournament at Valley Mills; and Valley Mills-Bruington Girls 12U in the District 6 Tournament at Mart.

For the second straight year, the Clifton Youth Sports Association was awarded two District Tournaments – the TTAB Boys 8U Coach Pitch District 10 Tournament and the TTAB Boys 14U District 6 Tournament.

“We have a dedicated group of volunteers that I would like to thank for all their hard work to maintain fields, concession stands and developing these ballplayers,” Kennedy said. “Huge thanks to Kayla Bible and Kelley Copley for keeping things running, as well as Dr. Richard Spitzer and Chris Blanton for their tireless efforts to keep our ballfields in great condition.”