Over the weekend, teams across South Carolina took to the diamond in honor of the late Tournament Director Matt Long in the USSSA Matt the Hat Memorial tournament.
Long passed away on February 17, 2024.
“We were humbled by the love and support shown for our Matt the Hat Memorial Tournament,” said Tournament Director Chris Wells. “We hosted 86 teams who came out to honor Matt Long and everything he meant to baseball in Upstate, SC. Coaches and families shared stories and laughed about all of the great times we had together at the ballpark with Matt. The Hat may be gone, but this tournament shows that he’ll never be forgotten.”
One of the teams who won it all for Long was the 10U TR Rockies team based out of Travelers Rest, South Carolina.
“The TR Rockies are grateful to have played in the Matt the Hat Memorial Tournament,” said Head Coach Brad Prochard. “Matt was such a wonderful person and so supportive of our players and community-based efforts as an organization. Our boys loved interacting with him and we’re proud (and a little sad) to honor him and his family this weekend. We hope to do this each year moving forward to remember his contributions to youth baseball, the community, and USSSA.”
The Rockies went 3-1 in the tournament and only allowed 14 runs.
The team also scored 36 runs and outscored opponents 17-1 in bracket play on Sunday.
The Rockies roster includes Mack Acor, Case Alexander, Rowan Buchanan, Graesyn Burgess, Brayden Eichelberger, Bram Hayden, Evan Pochard, Luke Powell, Wyatt Tilley, Corbin Wright, and Benicio Zannini.
The Rockies currently have an overall USSSA record of 17-8-1.
Leave a Reply