By Ross Johnson

Sports Writer

Yet another state championship baseball team resides in Troup County.

The West Point all-stars won the state title on Thursday at the Senior League state tournament, held at Oconee High in Watkinsville.

Senior League baseball falls under the Little League umbrella.

West Point joins the Troup County 13-14 and 13-year-old Dixie Baseball all-stars as teams that have already proven to be the best in the state this summer.

The West Point team, led by manager Louie Wessinger and assistant coach Jeff Sheffield, will be put to the test again Aug. 7 at the Senior League regional tournament in Melbourne, Fla., with a chance to go to Bangor, Maine, for the World Series.

That’s all in the future for the West Point all-stars, however.

For now, the team is celebrating its state championship.

“The kids had a lot of heart and never gave up,” said Wessinger, who has been a Little League coach for 13 years. “They all had a lot of heart. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

One of the key moments in the tournament was Tuesday against the home-team Oconee County all-stars.

With the team trailing by a run and down to its last out in the seventh inning, West Point drove in a run to force extra innings before eventually winning.

“You’d think this team had been playing together for years,” Wessinger said. “They had a desire to win, and they wouldn’t be denied.”

In the championship game against Hart County, Josh King pitched a seven-inning complete game to lead his team to a 4-1 victory.

King also had three of his team’s eight hits, including two doubles.

West Point also beat Smyrna 16-2, Western 8-3 and Oconee County 6-5.

West Point’s lone loss was a 9-5 setback to Hart County.

In the dramatic win over Oconee, Brad Bartlett pitched 2 2/3 innings in relief to get the victory.

King had two hits, and Jayson Norton had the game-winning hit.

In the opening victory against Smyrna, Cody Sheffield was 4-for-4, Jim Reed had three hits, and King and Josh Garland had two hits apiece.

Against Western, Thomas Ozley, Garland and King each had two hits, with King throwing six innings to get the win.

In the loss to Hart County, Sheffield, King and Reed had two hits apiece.

The team’s 12-man roster has eight Troup Tigers on it, including several players who saw significant playing time for the school last season.

Wessinger said he wasn’t even able to use all of the team’s talent on the pitching staff.

“I would say 10 of our 12 guys are pitchers,” Wessinger said. “We didn’t even get to use all of them. It’s really incredible how well those guys did.”

As for the trip to Melbourne, and then possibly an ensuing trip to Maine, Wessinger said the team is “excited.”

“It’ll be a good experience for everyone,” he said. “I’m just proud to be a part of the team. We’ve come a long way and we’ve worked really hard.”