* Surry West's 12-year-old all-star baseball players spent this past Friday night at the friendly and familiar confines of Salem Fork ballpark, just off Interstate 77 at exit 93.
The team is getting ready for this week's Cal Ripken Southeast Region tournament in Ocee Park, Ga. Surry West will represent Western North Carolina in the 10-team event, which encompasses the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
On this particular practice night, while players like Calvin Yarboro, Forrest Kimbrell, McKinley Johnson, Dillon Wood and Austin Stevens, worked on their swings, a group of parents was trying to hit a home run of its own. They're in charge of raising the thousands of dollars it will take to carry the Surry West entourage to Georgia for what could be nearly a week-long stay.
The opening ceremonies are Wednesday evening, though Surry West won't play its first game until Friday. The championship is set for Monday, July 28 (carrying over into Tuesday if the brackets fall a certain way).
Fortunately, most in the Surry West group are veterans at summer all-star play and preparations. Many on this year's 12-year-old team made a similar journey last summer -- traveling to Florida for the 11-year-old Southeast Region tournament. The team maximized its stay, winning some games before coming home.
The parents had their brainstorm lists of potential sponsors out in full force on Friday night, comparing notes and planning their next round of phone calls. Though the economy is tight for all this time around because of high gas prices, the group had already built a sizable donations list going into this week
Still, the team would appreciate more financial help. For additional information on sponsoring the team, contact Tonya Kimbrell Beck at 356-8766 or 755-8916, or Shellie Yarboro at 244-7822.
The team plans to pull out early Wednesday morning for the five-hour trip to the northern suburbs of Atlanta.
* Three more Surry County all-star teams were still alive in Western North Carolina Babe Ruth state tournaments as of Sunday afternoon.
Results weren't available as of press time, but the Surry 18-year-old team had bounced back from an 8-3 Saturday defeat against the Greensboro Spirits by beating Greensboro Reno in an elimination game 3-2 on Saturday evening. That put Surry into the championship series against the Spirits, which was scheduled for Sunday.
Surry must win twice to take the state championship and earn the Western North Carolina berth at the region tournament in South Hill, Va.
The Surry 15's beat Union County American 6-4 and Erwin 11-0 in its early tournament games in Statesville. Surry played in the championship round of its bracket Sunday, aiming to advance to a best-of-three series for the WNCBR state title Monday (and Tuesday, if necessary).
The Surry 13s beat Matthews American 11-2 in its opener Saturday in Marion. The 13-year-old tournament wraps up tonight with the championship game. Surry was one step away from making the title game going into Sunday.
* Area basketball fans have one more chance to catch Starmount's Victor Davila play a high school game. Davila will suit up in tonight's N.C. East-West all-star clash at the Greensboro Coliseum. The contest is set to tip around 8:30 p.m., following the girls all-star game.
Davila, a four-year starter at Starmount, is already taking classes at Virginia Tech, where he'll be a freshman hoopster this fall and winter. He was invited to three showcase games following the end of Starmount's prep season and had intended not to play in any of them, according to his guardian Donnie Livengood.
But Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg wanted to see his big man play in at least one, and Davila settled on the annual East-West game, which has been around for decades. All-star games like this don't always suit big men (because the guards like to get up and down the floor and show off their shooting skills), but it will be intriguing to see how Davila looks whenever he's matched up against soon-to-be ACC comrade Ty Walker of Wilmington. Walker, who stands 7-0, has signed with Wake Forest.
* Elkin High is forming a nice football pipeline to Guilford College. Former Buckin' Elk standout West Caudle, whose byline sometimes appears on Tribune pages, plans to join Elkin alums Hagen Miller, Andrew Johnson and Levi Carter on the Guilford roster. Caudle said he will be a center, possibly in line to earn a starting spot.
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