Acadiana Area, La. – Two hundred ten youth baseball teams from across Louisiana and Texas gathered to play baseball at the 2023 United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Winter Nationals: Toys for Tots Tournament. They aimed to compete on the diamond and give back during the holidays to help bring joy to those less fortunate by providing toys and bikes.
“This event serves as a powerful reminder of the impact we can make when communities unite for a common cause,” said Tournament Director Kayla Odom. “One hundred ninety-five bikes and approximately four thousand toys were generously donated by our amazing teams, parents, coaches, and sponsors. We want to extend a special thank you to the teams that participated in our event, our hard-working staff, Jerry Broussard and the Lafayette area Toys for Tots chapter, as well as the cities of Abbeville, Broussard, Carencro, Crowley, Eunice, and Scott, for the continued collaboration to make this event possible. The support of everyone means the world to us and will bring joy to so many children during this holiday season.”
The Storm went undefeated, 5-0, in the tournament to win the Winter Nationals 11U Open Championship, scoring forty-eight runs and only allowing six.
“I am extremely proud of the boys with how they played overall as a team this weekend,” said Storm Head Coach Chris Carter. “We focused on playing great defense and throwing strikes, which showed having only given up six runs in five games and not having a single error all weekend. We look forward to seeing what the future holds with this group of young men.”
Pictured: Renegades Baseball with a few of the bikes they donated to Toys for Tots. (Their 9U and 13U divisions brought a total of 35 bikes)
Pictured: Winter Nationals 11U Open Champion – LA Storm 11U
The Storm’s roster, led by Head Coach Chris Carter, included Quinn Bonin, Luke Arceneaux, Hayes Pierce, Jaxon Carter, Nate Matchett, Kase Paddy, Parker Tujague, Kohner Johnson, Graeme Owen, Ethan Porter, and Kelson Nagle.
