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Beaufort County Post 15 lost in the state tournament in Cherryville. They went 0-2 in the tournament but head coach Bobby Boyd emphasized that the season was still a huge success.

“I had zero dislikes about the season as a whole,” Boyd said. “We came into the season saying we wanted to make it to Cherryville, and we did just that. We would’ve liked to win, but out of all the American Legion teams in North Carolina, we were one of eight that made the state tournament. We represented Beaufort County very well.”

Boyd said the team did not look bad in Cherryville, but they were not at their best. They played South Caldwell in the first round. They were 16-1 coming into the game and Boyd said they were the best team they faced all season.

Post 15 was losing 2-1 in the fifth inning. Boyd said a costly error on defense opened the floodgates and South Caldwell ended up winning 9-1.

Then they met Wilmington in an elimination game. The bats went ice cold. They finished with five hits and three of them came from Bryce Williams.

They had a lead-off triple and double in two separate innings and could not score either one. They lost 2-1 and Boyd said the pitching was really good but they could not hit.

Looking ahead to next year, they will have 10 of the 16 players returning along with the entire coaching staff. Tanner Moore, Cutter Williams, and Avery Johnson will be seniors, therefore, making them ineligible.

The team will get bigger next year as the maximum team size will be increased from 16 players to 18. Boyd said they will have tryouts for the remaining eight spots.

“We will ask the players for recommendations for tryouts,” Boyd said. “The chemistry really developed between them this year. They all go to different high schools so it was nice to see them come together this year.

That’s why we are asking the players for tryout recommendations, we want them to play with other guys they know to keep up the chemistry between them.”

While he is proud of how his team performed, Boyd is more impressed with the character he saw from his players. He said umpires and opposing teams would come up to him and tell him how disciplined and well-respected his team is.

Boyd said this was the standard from day one. “We set the bar on the first day of practice and every player knew it. We kept our values throughout the whole season and I am very proud of how they grew as young men,” Boyd said.

Boyd has no complaints about the season and is already looking forward to next year. “We won 18 games this year and have nothing to be disappointed in. I am extremely proud of this team and I can’t wait to be at it again next season,” Boyd said.