Written by Ben Cox – A group of young local athletes are preparing for a run at the state 8 and under machine pitch baseball tournament. The 8u Early Twins have a 14 and 1 record for the season, and are under the coaching leadership of Sean Seaman.
Seaman, who is a recent transplant to Brownwood thanks to his position with 3M, has been coaching the team for four months. A former athlete himself, Seaman played college basketball for the UMD Bulldogs in Minnesota.
13 seven and eight year olds make up the team, who head to Copperas Cove on Monday. Seaman says the parents “have been very positive. I thank the parents continuously for their time, energy, and effort this season for putting up with the demands of the season.”
Seaman says he wants to make sure his players are “enjoying the sport, having fun and learning the different fundamental aspects of the game.” The teams sole loss was a coachable moment for the team, and Seaman says his players, while obviously upset at the outcome learned a valuable lesson in sportsmanship as well as how to handle losses and not just wins.
The team is still fundraising for the trip, with a portion of all sales at Chili’s today for those who mention the team, as well as a bake sale and carwash this Saturday at the Leon River Mercantile from 9 a.m. until 1 that afternoon.
The team does have a sponsor, Minnesota based Plaas Inc, who will be making a donation for the team, but local support is needed. The team also has a GoFundMe account set up for donations.
The first round of games starts at 9 a.m. on the 16th, with 10 games played that day. Those games will funnel 6 teams forward to play on the 18th, with the last three games played on the 19th.
The championship game will begin at 7 p.m. on field 2 of the Copperas Cove City Park, located at 1206 W Ave B. The Copperas Cove Parks and recreation department can be contacted through their website for more details.
