The champs have been officially crowned!

The Baldwin County 17 and under baseball All-Stars accomplished a marvelous feat this past weekend by capturing a hard-fought championship from the jaws of defeat. The team stuck together, stayed focused and confident, and knew how to deliver the goods when opportunities presented themselves.

Baldwin County All-Stars head coach Keith Jump gave a rousing speech Thursday afternoon to his team as they celebrated their title huddled in booths with family, friends and familiar faces at Chick-fil-A on North Columbia Street. The restaurant also treated the All-Stars with a large buffet platter of chicken nuggets to enjoy as team members were each called up front to receive their individual plaques.

The team’s gigantic championship trophy was also on hand, and will more than likely be housed in a display case at Walter B. Williams Park according to Coach Jump, who knows he sported the best team at last weekend’s tournament.

“I don’t think the other team had the versatility and all-around players that we had,” said Jump.

Coach Jump’s championship speech was peppered with compliments for his young, but very talented team.

“I could put everyone of you in different positions, and it didn’t matter when, where or how you did it. Whatever I asked you do you did it — you never griped and you never complained,” said Jump. “Y’all might have looked at me funny every once in a while, but you did not ever question what I was asking you to do. That’s the mark, in my opinion, of a great team.”

The overjoyed coach detailed in his speech the importance of sticking together — and how his squad came together despite having a very limited amount of practice time.

“That was the most surprising part of all. Because you all had no time to practice together, but you all had played together throughout the years. So you knew each other, knew what each other was capable of, and knew what each other could do. You knew your strengths and your weaknesses, and you knew how to rely on each other to get each other through the day,” he said.

The Baldwin All-Stars were able to rise up and capture the crown after falling early in the tournament. After topping an Effingham County team 7-3 to open the tournament, the Baldwin All-Stars fell to the Savannah Sand Vipers 6-3 after several errors at key moments in the contest.

“We should have never been in the loser’s bracket. The one game we lost, we gave to them,” said Jump. “But when it came down to brass tacks we jumped on them that morning, and they didn’t know what to do.”

Coach Jump also rehashed a dramatic incident that occurred during the tournament, in which another team was displaying ‘dirty play’ against the Baldwin County All-Stars.

“Caleb (Scoggins) had already been bumped into and had elbows thrown at him and everything else. If not for y’all, you wouldn’t have had a coach that day,” stated Jump as he addressed his team. “It took every one of you to calm me down in that dugout. There were mamas and daddies there, but y’all were mine when you were on that field. And I was not going to let anybody take advantage of you.”

The Baldwin All-Stars were not only blessed with a tremendous and caring coach, but also sported some of the top baseball talent in Baldwin County. Players from Baldwin High, JMA and GMC are all represented on the roster, and the team is a prime example of how ‘Baldwin County baseball’ should be played.

Baldwin All-Star Donovan Haslam, who was hampered by an injury during the tournament, was proud that the team was able to travel to Guyton and get the job done. He also reflected on his most lasting memory.

“Just the heart they had, and how Dusty [Tyson] showed up, played and did such a great job,” said Haslam. “Coach Jump offered me so many different positions to be apart of that team, and unfortunately I couldn’t take any of them because of my hamstring — but he called me after every single game, told me what was happening, and asked me my opinion about every single thing. You know, I’m always going to remember it and hopefully I can go next year.”

Baldwin All-Star Robert Jones was also elated that his team was able to pull out the necessary wins to capture the tournament.

“I’m glad for Coach Jump and for the team. We won game after game — and brought Milledgeville back the state championship. Baldwin, this if for you,” said Jones.

Jones’ Baldwin High teammate Tyler Jump, the son of Coach Jump, also had some lasting memories from his team’s exciting run in Guyton.

“Really, it helps me out a lot, and I know it helps out a whole bunch of the players. Because a lot of people thought that with our limited pitching that we were going to get knocked out the first two games — because people like Rick Griffin, Mech Melder and Chris Bradshaw weren’t going and weren’t going to pitch for us,” said [Tyler] Jump. “But DeAndre Thomas, Braxton Hurt and others really showed that they can pick up the slack when it comes to pitching, and they did. All of us really wanted the championship.”

The Baldwin All-Stars performance at the state tournament is just another sign that Baldwin County baseball can compete with any talent around — the proof is in the pudding.

Well champs, enjoy those trophies, and know that Baldwin County is certainly proud of you.

Congratulations to the 2009 GRPA Class “B” State Champs for bringing home the gold!