Vine-Ingle Little League team advances to region tournament in North Carolina

The Vine-Ingle Little League 13U All-Stars advanced to the southeast region tournament last week, defeating Peachtree City’s team in two games at the state level Saturday to earn a chance at a Little League World Series berth.

The team, in its first year of existence under longtime Vine-Ingle skipper Tommy DeHart, is in the 50/70 Intermediate class of Little League. That age group’s southeastern tournament takes place in Kernersville, North Carolina from July 19-22. The World Series, should the team win in the region, will go down in Livermore, California next month.

“This is a great team we’ve got, and they played hard at region and state. Every one of these kids plays school ball, so there’s talent there,” DeHart said. “I’ve only ever played in two state tournaments, so I’m real proud of them for how they’ve played.”

The team played four playoff games total, two at the district level and four at the state level. All four games were blowout victories, starting with the two wins over Chatham County on the road in Savannah. Jayden Cannon stood out, tallying three home runs in the two games.

“Jayden is one of our strongest hitters. He plays at ACE and he can really hit for power. He can play several positions and we’re just glad to have him,” DeHart said.

The games against Peachtree City also ended in blowout fashion, as Vine Ingle scored more than 20 runs in both contests. Cannon hit three more home runs in the first game alone.

Another standout player is Kayden Harvey, a student at Tattnall Square Academy.

“There’s pro potential there, and I’m not kidding,” DeHart said. “He’s played with me before when he was 11, and he’s got a great understanding of the game. I don’t take credit for that as a coach, I just reap the rewards of it.”

DeHart said that their entire lineup is strong at the plate, while the team has around seven very talented pitchers. Four of those hurlers could qualify as “shutdown pitching,” he said.

The team is in its first season because Vine-Ingle, prior to this year, did not have an age group for players older than 12.

“I’ve coached here since 1977 and it’s always been 12, but this year we wanted older. It’s harder to organize because lots of them play travel ball, and the field dimensions are different, but it has been very fun to coach,” DeHart said.

The team’s other coaches include Chad Hickman, TK Chambliss and Lance Foster. Hickman played at Vine Ingle under DeHart when he coached the Major League’s Yankees team, a role he’s still remembered fondly for at Vine-Ingle.

The new age group of 13-14 began as nothing more than a list of players, some of whom DeHart coached when they were five years old. The coaches started calling names and, before they knew it, had five full teams of 11 players for Vine Ingle to start a league with.

The teams played a 12-game season, and the All-Star team was selected from the league’s best players during that regular season.

Vine Ingle will face teams from states including North Carolina, Tennessee and more from around the Southeast in the region tournament starting July 19.