The girls of the Hope Mills 10U Softball All-Stars Angels were all too happy to talk about their sport and recent win at the Dixie Softball World Series tournament in Monroe, Louisiana.
“Wait, am I gonna be on ESPN?” One asked excitedly. Her mom giggled.
When the 12 girls were picked from their recreational teams and chosen to represent Hope Mills at the World Series in the 10U Angels division, the families individually made the 13-hour drive to Louisiana. Most of the players on the All-Stars team fall between the ages of nine and ten, with just a few having barely turned 11.
“These rec ball teams get formed every single year. There is a draft, and they pick the players that they want to represent the city,” said head coach Brad Gump. Gump is a coach on a volunteer basis.
The tournament was a double elimination tournament where the team ended up playing at least four games to eventually win the World Series. This was all after they won districts and then state before heading to the national tournament. The players felt their coach helped play a pivotal role in this success.
“He is a very positive and great coach,” said Nia Beaty. “He gave us inspirational words and gave us a confidence boost that helped us win that game.”
The All-Stars lost only one of the games they played through all of their tournaments. This was the hardest part for third-base player Brynann Bryant. When asked what the challenging part of being on the All-Stars team was, she just replied, “Coping with the one loss we had all season.”
Brynann said she and the others would ask themselves how they could have played better and try to keep spirits high even with a loss.
Other team members though, like first-base player Natalie Seals, said after seeing the draft of all the players for the All-Stars team, and the level of talent they all had, they felt they might have a good chance of winning the World Series. The loss of one game didn’t shake their confidence in future wins.
“It’s a little bit of pressure to pick the right kids but you get to watch them all year so you kind of have an idea,” Gump said of choosing his team. “You get two months to watch the girls play and practice.”
Most of the girls play both rec and travel ball for softball with a lot of them gushing about the passion they have for the sport. They play the sport year-round.
“I have been playing softball for two years and I have enjoyed every minute of it,” said second-base player Nia. “Softball is a major part of my life, and I probably will never stop playing that sport.”
Her sentiments are also echoed by many of the other players who find themselves hoping to turn their passion into a career one day, like Brynann, who says she wants to "for sure" be a professional softball player. Being picked for the All-Stars team and eventually going to travel to Louisiana only added to the level of excitement for the sport for most of them, Gump said.
“The girls were highly motivated the entire time. Every single game they showed up motivated. They scored 200 runs throughout the whole tournament. They only gave 2 runs against them,” Gump said.
Next year, Gump is moving to the 12U age group for softball and if he stays there, he may get a chance to coach many of the same girls again.
As for now, the girls and Gump will get to celebrate their win with a dinner with the Town of Hope Mills commissioners, a banner on the field at the Hope Mills recreational fields and they will all get to be in the Christmas Parade. One thing is for sure, they all plan to see each other in the future.
“Possibly in the big leagues,” said Nia.

(Photo: The Hope Mills 10U Softball All-Stars pose for a photo. The team won the Dixie Softball World Series in a dominant fashion, outscoring their opponents 200 runs to 2. Photo courtesy of the Hope Mills All-Stars)