Kilgore 14-year olds come back, win tourney

They mastered the improbable, conquered the unlikely, and are champions of the not-to-bebelieved.

The Kilgore Boys Baseball Association's 14-year-old all-stars had to win two games over an as-yet-unbeaten team in the age group's Dixie Youth South Zone state tournament in Dayton on Thursday to win the tournament and keep their World Series hopes alive, and the team did it, beating Livingston twice - 16-6 in game one, then a nail-biting 15-14 in game two, which finished right around midnight this morning.

Ryan Dixon had a hit into the gap between first and second bases that scored Mason Nestleroad for the game-winning run. "It was pandemonium," head coach Mark Dickey said. "It was just unbelievable."

The KBBA all-stars have one more task. They have to return to Dayton on Saturday afternoon to face North Zone champion Paris in a best-of-threegame series. The winning team will represent Texas in the Dixie 14-year-old World Series in Covington, Ga., next month.

"It's 701 miles from Kilgore to Covington," Dickey said. "We're hoping to make that trip."

Team members are Dixon, Nestleroad, Jerrick Massenburge, Colton Slayter, Riley Toler, Deontre Williams, Matthew Dickey, Shawn Williams, Kaleb Brisendine, Tevin Alexander, and Dakota Pierce. The squad is coached by Mark Dickey, Marcus Dixon and Jeff Nestleroad.

In the second game, Kilgore trailed as much as 8-2 before rallying to break a 14-all tie. Nestleroad walked, then advanced to third on a hit by Massenburge. With one out, Dixon went to the plate, and Dickey advised him to bunt.

"He looked at me and said, 'Coach, I got this,'" Dickey recalled. "'I can hit this guy.' And he did it. He did exactly what he said. This is just a special group of kids, and I don't mean just for baseball. They are really something else. They're a joy to coach."

The team run-ruled Livingston in the first game. "They put on a hitting clinic," Dickey said. "Every kid had a hit."