The Plant City Little League Majors entered this season with high expectations, unknowing of the bitter taste of defeat.
That’s because they rarely experienced the feeling. The team entered this season having only lost one game in the previous two seasons. Seasons that saw them go as far as possible and win the district, sectional, state and southeast region tournaments.
This season put the most on the line, with another tier after the region tournament — the coveted Little League World Series, in Williamsport, Pa.
Although the team and coaches had dreams of going to Williamsport, they knew that the road to get there would not be an easy one.
That road ended July 28, in the state tournament, as Plant City fell to Martin County North 8-4 in the state semifinals in Lutz. Martin County North would go on to win the state championship July 29, defeating Sarasota American. They, not Plant City, now will head to Warner Robins, Ga., for the southeast regional, with a spot in Williamsport and the national spotlight on the line.
“It definitely hurts and is a hard pill to swallow,” said Plant City Manager T.J. Messick. “It’s the last time most of these boys will play on the smaller field, and it’s just a heart-breaker.”
BUMP IN THE ROAD
Plant City cruised through the District 4 tournament, outscoring opponents 46-9 in four games. After a close 5-4 win over North Brandon in the Section 4 tournament, Plant City took care of Lakewood Ranch 19-2 and Lutz 10-0.
The team kicked off the pool play in Pool B of the state tournament July 26 with an 11-5 win over Dunedin. In the second game of pool play July 27, Plant City defeated North Springs 12-1, thanks to two two-run home runs from Parker Messick and J.J. Gonzalez and a three-run shot from Andrew Long. Braxton Plunk got the win on the mound in the second game, allowing just one run in the complete game, while throwing only 47 pitches in four innings.
“That was one heck of a pitching performance,” Messick said.
Plant City looked to be in control in the third game against Northwest Leon, starting things off with a three-run homer from Parker Messick and a solo shot from Ben Pues. Plant City found itself with an 11-3 lead in the fifth, but Northwest Leon began to chip away at the lead.
“Before we knew it, they were back in it,” Messick said.
Northwest Leon would go on to win the game 12-11, forcing Plant City to face Martin County North, the top team in Pool A, in the state semifinals.
In that semifinal, Plant City couldn’t get anything going offensively, with their first nine batters retired in order. By the time the offense got going, Martin County North already had a sizable lead and went on to win 8-4, eliminating Plant City and putting an end to dreams of Williamsport.
“Obviously, we were severely disappointed after that game,” Messick said. “The Martin County team was good and were classy and well coached, but we felt like and still do feel like we were better. We just gave up too many runs.”
A grand slam with two outs in the second inning sparked Martin County North.
Costly errors and mental lapses on defense — one of Plant City’s strongest assets entering the All-Star season — also contributed to the loss.
“Those mistakes we made were difficult, but everyone defensively played their butts off for the whole tournament and the entire season,” Messick said.
REMARKABLE RUN
What the Plant City Majors were able to accomplish cannot be overlooked. The team remained intact since forming as a 9-10 team two years ago. That team won the district, sectional, state and southeast region Tournament of State Champions the past two years. With two additional players this season as a 13-player Majors roster — Tommy Johnson and Jacob Smith — Plant City again won the district and sectional tournaments and was one game away from possibly repeating as state champions for the third consecutive year.
Messick said the team has agreed to return next season as Juniors, playing on a larger field in between the Majors field and a traditional field you see in high school. The Juniors division has a World Series, albeit not as famous as the Little League World Series.
“It would have been great to go all the way this year, but it takes nothing away from these kids,” Messick said.
In the past three years, Plant City compiled a 42-3 record.
“I don’t know if there’s any team out there that can say they did that,” Messick said. “I’ve had the fantastic opportunity to not only watch these boys grow as baseball players, but grow as young men. It seems like it’s gone in a blink of an eye.”
Contact Matt Mauney at mmauney@plantcityobserver.com.
ROSTER
No. 2 Bryar Christian
No. 3 Braxton Plunk
No. 4 Jake Stines
No. 5 Hunter Emerine
No. 11 Andrew Long
No. 13 Connor Rogers
No. 15 Parker Messick
No. 17 Cade Shissler
No. 19 Dylan Robinson
No. 24 Ben Pues
No. 32 Tommy Johnson
No. 33 J.J. Gonzalez
No. 52 Jacob Smith
Manager: T.J. Messick
Assistant coaches: Casey Christian, Steve Shissler and Jeff Robinson