Cooperstown, New York is usually known for being the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame but during the week of July 24th through July 30th, twelve young men started on a journey at Cooperstown’s own “Dreams Park” of making their own dreams come true.
Bladen County product Fredy Wooten and his Rock Solid Red Baseball Team out of Wilmington became members of The American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame. Although championship baseball was the business at hand, along the journey they developed character, tenacity, humility, teamwork, sportsmanship, and most of all heart.
On Sunday, July 26, they started their run to the championship by blanking the Lenape Valley Rebels from Pennsylvania 16-0. In game 2, the lob sided victories continued by smashing the Louisiana Legends 14-2. Rock Solid Red decided to continue the “hit parade” by blasting the North Hunterdon Youth of New Jersey 19-1 and the Westlake Demons of Ohio 15-0. On Tuesday the last day of pool play, the team refused to lose as they defeated the On Deck Baseball Academy from Nevada 14-9 and the Syracuse Spartans 13-1. After three days of pool play, Wooten and Rock Solid Red clinched the #2 spot out of 104 teams only allowing 2.16 runs per game.
On the road to the championship, Rock Solid Red had to defeat four teams. In the first game of the single elimination tournament, they crushed the #34 seed, Hornell Raiders of NY, 15-2. After a quick turnaround time, playing at 8:30 PM the team representing the “Tar Heel State” defeated the #47 seed, the Tigers out of California, by the score of 18-9. After a good night’s sleep, they returned to defeat the #10 seed, Danville Mustangs from, 20-0. In the semi-final contest, this Rock Solid Red Team would play their closest game yet as they defeated the Texas Gladiators, the #14 seed, 9-8, to make it to the big dance on Thursday night.
Riding high after a string of victories, this confident bunch for Rock Solid Red was ready for the challenges of the championship game. However, Thursday night ended bittersweet as their hopes for getting there were achieved only later dashed as a defeat at the hands of the South Jersey Sand Sharks Blue by the score of 8-3. The Sand Sharks pulled out all the stops to defeat battlers from Rock Solid Red by flying a pitcher in for the championship game, however in the end, what matters most are the memories that these 12 young men, coaches, and parents all have embedded in their minds for a lifetime. A victory would have been nice, but the journey was well worth the ride.
As for our hometown hero, Fredy Wooten, during this championship run, his individual stats were phenomenal. Wooten comprised a .520 batting average, hit three home runs, all while patrolling the outfield. Also during this championship run the support that the team received was reminiscent of the movie “Akeelah and the Bee”, where rallying of a city, region, and state primarily through phone calls and social media were humbling. Thanks for your support.
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