By Madison McEntire
Upon arriving in Zachary, La., to begin their quest for the 2010 Southwest Regional Tournament championship, the Bryant 9-year-old All-Stars attended the traditional opening ceremony in which all of the teams gather on the field, carrying the flag of their home state.
This year, the event also featured a home run derby with each of the 16 teams nominating one player to participate. The event took place on the Zachary High School football field, where a 160-foot arc was painted on the field to serve as the outfield “fence”.
Bryant’s Garett Nguyen placed third in the competition.
With assistant coach Phillip Dupree serving as his batting practice pitcher, “Bear”, as he is known to his teammates and coaches, blasted two bombs out of 10 swings to advance to the second round along with seven other players. He was one of just two players to hit two in the first round.[more]
After he tacked on one more in the second round, Nguyen moved to the third round with a total of three. In the third round, each player received seven swings. Nguyen homered on his first swing, later added another and, briefly, led the remaining players before being passed by each of the final two players who ended the third round with a total of six home runs.
The Bryant 9-year-old All-Stars begin pool play with games at 2 and 6 p.m. on Friday, July 23. After two more pool play games on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the team will advance to a single-elimination tournament that begins on Sunday, July 25.
