Apopka Little League prepared this week for the start of what could be a long journey to the World Series as the All-Stars postseason began.
Apopka Little League’s president, Gary Odom, said that last Sunday, the All-Stars tournament began with the Apopka Little League softball team and the 10U baseball team. Unfortunately, the softball team was sent home on the first day of the tournament, losing both of its games. He said the 10U team split its games against Dr. Phillips (13-3 loss) and South Lake (7-2 win).
Odom said the Apopka Little League program is in a very competitive district. Apopka Little League is part of Little League Florida District 14, home to programs including Windermere, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Dr. Phillips and more. Odom said that the program to beat this year is Windermere. He believes if Apopka teams can get past Windermere, they have a good chance of winning the district.
The Majors division (12U) is the level that plays in the televised Little League World Series each August, but the road to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is long and challenging.
The first step is the district tournament, where teams compete against other local leagues in the area. If you win district, you move on to the sectional tournament competing against all other district champions. Sectional champions move on to the state tournament, which is followed by regional tournaments. Finally, all regional champions will move on to the World Series in Williamsport.
Only the Majors division can advance to Williamsport. Other age groups end their season at regionals or state tournaments.
Ryan Lewis, head coach of the Apopka Majors team, is in his first year of coaching the All-Star team.
“I don’t normally manage the All-Star teams,” Lewis said. “I usually just assistant coach. We are not looking horrible, but I haven’t seen the competition, so I can’t compare.”
Lewis said Apopka’s Majors performance last year “wasn’t pretty” and he wants to improve this year. He hopes he and the team can pull out a few wins this weekend at the district tournament and advance to the next round.
Lewis said his team is focusing on the fundamentals at practice this week.
“Seems like that weeklong gap between the regular season and postseason has let a lot of fundamentals go out the window,” Lewis said.
On Monday, the team focused on defense, taking ground balls and practicing situations. Lewis said another key to winning will be pitching.
“Consistency and throwing strikes, that’ll be the biggest thing for us,” Lewis said. “The infield and outfield have got to be consistent in what they do. We have to not make errors, and pitchers have to put it over the plate.”
Due to inclement weather and lightning in the area, many games this week were postponed. As of Wednesday, the updated schedule for Apopka Little League teams had Apopka’s 10U team facing Winter Garden on Wednesday and Windermere on Friday at South Lake Little League fields.
The senior team (ages 13-16) faced Windermere on Wednesday and was set to face Winter Garden at Windermere on Saturday and Dr. Phillips on Sunday at Dr. Phillips.
Apopka Majors team will start play on Saturday morning at Winter Garden Little League Baseball Veterans Field, where it will face off against Dr. Phillips.
