Jonathan Clay takes off from first base while Jake Ward gets a double during the Vicksburg Angels’ practice at Halls Ferry Park Tuesday evening. (Sam FreemanThe Vicksburg Post)

[7/21/04]A caravan of cars and trucks will leave Vicksburg National Military Park around noon today, carrying the Vicksburg Angels 11 budding baseball stars on a mission to Amarillo, Texas, for a shot at a World Series berth.

Behind the pack will be several years of blood, sweat, and tears left on baseball diamonds all over Mississippi and the southeast.

Ahead of it will be a long weekend of nail-biting and uncertainty, and hopefully a regional championship.

“We’re all real excited about this weekend,” Angels coach Gary Lee said. “It’s always good to play against teams that are better than you are. It’s good experience and it gives you a chance to show your stuff.”

In the first round of the 10-year-olds’ Cal Ripken Southwest Regional Tournament, which begins on Friday. The Angels will square off against South Texas on Friday at 11 a.m.

A win would pit the Angels against West Texas on Saturday morning.

The Angels differ in their expectations of the weekend, but all of them are confident.

“I have a good feeling about the tournament,” Angel Lamar Anthony said. “I think we’re going to win it.”

Kewayne Gaston added, “I’m nervous, but I think we have a good chance. I’ll just be happy to be there.”

His players may have mixed emotions heading to the tournament, but Lee knows exactly what his goals are for them in Amarillo.

“When we get there, we raise our state flag at the park where the fields are,” he said. “And if we lose, we have to take our flag down.

“If you look out there at the end of the weekend, our flag is going to be the only one out there.”

This year’s state tournament in Forest qualified the 10-year old team for the Southwest Regional.

Aside from giving them the title of state champions, the tournament held a special significance for the Angels.

They were eliminated with two quick defeats in the first round of the state tournament last year, and spent all spring preparing so they wouldn’t meet the same fate this time.

“Everything was practiced again and again so we wouldn’t go out like last time,” Lee said. “And we did real well. We had excellent pitching and hit the ball. We played very well in the state tournament.”

Lee sees the weekend ahead not just as a shot to win a regional and go to the Cal Ripken World Series, but also as a way for his team to get some recognition for all their hard work and prove that they deserve everything they’ve won thus far.

“A lot of the games and tournaments that we’ve won so far have been against teams that weren’t very good, and we beat them pretty bad,” he said. “Because of that, some people doubt that we’re a good team. They think we just don’t play anybody good.”