Since returning to Union County, American Legion baseball has continued to expand.
Along with the El Dorado Oilers and El Dorado Drillers, the El Dorado Metals, a 15U program, debuted this spring.
On Saturday, the Metals will participate in their first state tournament, which is being held in Cabot.
The Metals play at 3 p.m. against the winner of Saturday morning’s game between Bryant and Sheridan.
Between poor weather and scheduling conflicts, the Metals have played only five games, but despite the limited amount of games they have played, coach Jeramie Dumas has been pleased with the progress of his team.
“It’s actually been a pretty rough season with the weather and scheduling games and trying to get them in,” Dumas said. “We haven’t had a lot of playing time this year, but we’ve managed to squeeze in a couple, and we’ve done pretty fair under the circumstances. It’s pretty good competition. This is a 15U program, so it’s prepping them for high school, and there’s a lot of good talent out there.”
The team is comprised of players from El Dorado, Parkers Chapel and Taylor, and Dumas said his players have made great strides since they began practicing at the start of April.
“It’s a little cocktail of our district,” Dumas said. “Their skillwork and mindset of the game and the way it’s played has improved tenfold. I’ve got 16 kids on my team, and every one of them has improved in one aspect or another.”
The Metals have held their own against older competition, and Dumas said that should help his team this weekend.
“It builds up their confidence and puts them on a level to where they know that nobody is unbeatable as long as they try hard, play as a team and don’t give up,” Dumas said. “They’ll ride it out and hopefully brings us home a win.”
The Metals have had several players step to the forefront during their debut season.
Demarcus Young has helped anchor the defense in center field.
“He’s really stepped up to the plate as far as fielding,” Dumas said. “He’s really covered the field great.”
Paytin Greene has emerged as a threat at the plate.
“He’s really been a good bat for us,” Dumas said. “He started off kind of slow, but in the last couple of games we’ve played, he’s brought it to the table.”
Christopher Greer has aided the Metals on the mound.
“He’s done a phenomenal job of pitching for us this year,” Dumas said. “He’s probably one of the fastest guys on the team.”
Jamison Dumas has also done a solid job on the mound.
“He’s my son, but I’m going to give him props,” Dumas said. “He’s really carried the team pitching and done a great job of catching, too.”
Dumas also singled out the growth of Karson DeBlieux, who has played at third base and at catcher.
“He didn’t play a lot of baseball before he got on this team other than a little bit of league ball,” Dumas said. “He’s come along. He went from barely knowing how to catch a grounder to now he’s catching behind the plate and playing a lot of third base. He’s made a couple of really great plays.”
Thus far, the response Dumas has gotten back on the start of the program has been positive.
“I’ve gotten pretty good feedback on it,” Dumas said. “This is the first year that they’ve started this program, so there’s been a lot of kinks that we’ve had to try to get worked out. Everybody understands that. I feel like all of my kids will be back to play next year. I’ve had all of the help I could get from Scott McMurry with the Boys Club, and Doug Bryant at Parkers Chapel with allowing us to use the field to play and practice on. Anybody that could help us throughout the community in any way has done it. Any questions that I have had about anything, Greg (Harrison) has been sure to help me answer it, and he’s a pretty busy guy. He’s taken time out to help me when I’ve needed it, but at the same time, he’s let me run it the way I want to do it.”
As far as this weekend is concerned, Dumas has high expectations for his team.
“As a coach, you always have expectations,” Dumas said. “I want to go up there and win.”