Once again, Franklin’s Little League baseball and softball teams are among the best in the state.
For the past few years, Franklin has made a habit of representing District 5 in the Little League State Tournaments. Following the District Championship round across the state, multiple Franklin teams are competing at state this week, including the 12U Majors defending their home turf at Parker Meadows.
“They’ve had a great season. They competed in our District 5 Tournament and obviously finished first there and won the District 5 title, which places us in the State Tournament here in Franklin,” said Franklin Little League president Justin Moffitt. “To our knowledge, this is the first state tournament that we’ve had in this age group – the true little league age group of 11 and 12-year-olds – here in Franklin, so we’re super-excited about that. We’re excited for our players, our coaches and also our town. It’s a boost to our local economy, and we get to showcase what awesome facilities and programs we have here.”
While hosting the 12U State Tournament at Parker Meadows has long been in the works, until recently Little League officials had no idea the Franklin team would be in the tournament itself. Having spent a full season with their regular Little League teams and the past month competing for Franklin’s All-Star team, the county’s best 12U players have dispatched all comers.
“We started mid-march and they played a full spring season, and the All-Star team has really been nonstop since,” said Moffitt. “[That] makes it that much more special that they committed to Franklin Little League, they’ve stuck it out, and here we are competing for a State Championship with the opportunity to move onto the Southeast Regional Tournament, which is held in Warner-Robins, Georgia.”
After running roughshod over their District 5 Tournament opponents, defeating Transylvania County 13-1, Henderson County 15-0 and twice beating Great Smokies (comprised of Jackson, Swain and Graham counties) 13-7 and 13-2, the 12U Majors will kick off the State Tournament Saturday, July 15 at 4 p.m. The team will host District 3 Champion Myers Park in the tournament’s first game.
In addition, multiple other Franklin squads have been District 5 contenders in recent weeks.
“Unfortunately, our 9 and 10-year olds lost in the District 5 Championship. They came up just a little bit short this year,” said Moffitt. “Our 8U baseball team are actually competing at state in Wilson, North Carolina ... and then our 8U softball won our district as well, and they advanced to the state tournament and are playing in Lake Norman.”
While Franklin’s 8U baseball All-Stars fell in pool play over the weekend, their 8U softball counterparts found a bit more success, locking horns with Pitt County in the State Semifinals after press time July 10. The teams’ success follow a clear trend for the program in recent years, which Moffitt credits to support from the Franklin community.
“If you compare our numbers across District 5, which encompasses Western North Carolina, we’ve got one of the largest Little League programs in the state,” said Moffitt. “Between baseball and softball, we’ve got over 600 kids playing, and that’s just a credit not only to our players for playing, but also just for the support that we have in our town. We’ve got some great players, but we have a tremendous amount of support in our community from coaches, assistant coaches, team moms, our scorekeepers, our umpires. We are so grateful for the program that we have here locally, and without those people we wouldn’t be where we’re at today.”
Ahead of the District 5 Tournament July 15-21, volunteers have been hard at work manicuring Parker Meadows, constructing a clay pitcher’s mound and preparing the grass in case of wet conditions. No matter how the host team finishes however, Moffitt said all of Franklin’s teams should be proud of their seasons.
“Year after year, we’re fortunate to have Franklin competing for State Championships in multiple age groups, and we don’t take that lightly,” said Moffitt. “That’s something to be proud of. We know those kids will always remember these memories, and that’s what makes it all go.”