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Highlands Today

Thrill Of Victory Still Fresh For Sebring

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

The Sebring 14 and under AAU baseball team recently came back with the National Classic Champion Division II championship trophy. The tournament which ended Aug. 2, was held at Disney.

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Highlands Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 12, 2008

SEBRING - Alex Griffin had chills running through his body when he tried to explain the feeling of lifting the trophy and finally being called a champion.

"It's just an awesome feeling to finally finish a tournament and be the last team standing," Griffin said. "We just couldn't believe what we had just accomplished and even a few days later, it still seems like a dream."

Griffin and the rest of his teammates made the impossible possible a week ago when they won the national championship at the AAU 14-and-under Division 2 National Tournament at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.

What is most amazing about the accomplishment is that no AAU team from Sebring had finished any better than fifth in any tournament.

The only thing missing to complete the championship experience was a victory parade through the circle in Sebring.

Assistant coach Ray Griffin was in utter disbelief during the whole celebration that this scrappy team from Sebring came up big on the biggest stage.

"This championship is totally unexpected," Coach Griffin said. "If you asked any of the kids for an honest answer before the tournament, they would've told you that Sebring didn't have much of a chance.

"But at some point during the tournament, we began to believe."

Sebring picked the best place to make dreams come true - at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex - as the Magic Kingdom is holy ground for the underdog.

The same stadium where Sebring won the championship is exactly where the Atlanta Braves play during spring training - a cliff note on the event that didn't go unnoticed by the players.

"When we first got to the stadium to warm up," Griffin said. "Everyone looked at the huge wall in center field and commented that Chipper Jones hit home runs in the same spot. It was amazing to know we're playing in the same grass as all those players.

"We just took in the experience."

Everyone wasn't happy after the final out secured the title for Sebring.

Zach Osha was despondent when asked about his championship experience -- not for winning a title but the final game.

"It was a huge letdown for me personally," Osha said. "You hope that you'll have to fight during that final game, but there wasn't much drama when you score 11 runs in the first inning. I'm still happy we won, but I would've loved to have a closer deciding game."

Sebring throttled the Madison Jaguars 18-3 in the championship final.

Griffin differs in the opinion of his teammate when asked about the final game.

"I agree somewhat that we weren't tested in the championship game," Griffin said. "But every other game leading up to that point was a war.

"I was worried every second that this would come to an end."

The culmination of all that anxiety was in the semifinal match against the Tampa Panthers when drama was taken to new heights.

Down two runs in the final inning, Coach Griffin was thankful for a generous call on what appeared to be a strike but was called a ball to Seth Abeln.

"On the very next pitch, Seth got a base hit to tie the ball game," Coach Griffin said. "You're fortunes can hang on the fate of one pitch in baseball."

Alex Griffin said that the seventh inning against the Panthers was the most emotional inning he's ever experienced in his baseball career.

"I get pumped up just talking about it," Griffin said. "When Mark Weir hit the game winning single to score Abeln, I couldn't stop yelling and cheering in the dugout. I could barely talk after the game."

The comeback kids from Highlands County even won rival fans over as the sound of SEBRING could be heard after the win.

"The fans really helped us a lot," Osha said. "When we would be struggling, we'd always get support from our fans and they pushed us to the championship."

Abeln, who had an outstanding tournament, was successful on eight consecutive bunt attempts in the tourney, while his teammate Weir was named to the All-Tournament team for his solid performance.

"This was such a team atmosphere," Abeln said. "I've been on teams that have a sense of distance in the dugout, but this was definitely a team.

"We had a team meeting after pool play and that's the time we knew we could play with anyone. That's when I knew we could win a championship."

The trophy was hoisted by all the players and the celebration filled the Disney stadium, with one of Sebring's players thanking a higher power for the win.

"This championship was a long answered prayer," Griffin said. "It's something I'll always remember."

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5827 or at choffman@highlandstoday.com.

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