The 2019 Dixie Youth Baseball Minor League District 5 Tournament in Crewe was one to be remembered, full of dramatic twists and turns, jaw-dropping rallies, clutch plays and last-second victories from 9- and 10-year-old boys in the area.

For a while, it seemed like the Charlotte County all-star squad was the team of destiny, staging back-to-back thrilling victories, one over the Dinwiddie National All-Stars and another over the Blackstone All- Stars.

But then Charlotte, the last undefeated team in the tournament, had to take on the Lunenburg County Youth Baseball League (LCYBL) all-star team, and the story of the event shifted.

On Tuesday, July 2, Lunenburg took an 8-0 lead, but then the Charlotte All-Stars began climbing back into the game, just like they had done in their thrilling wins. They tied the game 8-8 in the top of the sixth, but instead of Charlotte continuing on to yet another triumph, Lunenburg did what it needed to do in the bottom of the inning and handed Charlotte its first loss, 9-8.

This set up a dramatic district championship game for Wednesday, July 3, with only the winner advancing to the 2019 Dixie Youth Baseball Minor League State Tournament in Bedford.

Lunenburg ended up turning in a dominant performance in the title game that produced a mercy rule-shortened 11-1 victory.

“That game they played was pretty flawless, that last game,” Lunenburg Minors Manager Daylon Powell said.

It was one of those stunning finishes that made me realize there was another team of destiny all along.

The Lunenburg All-Stars ended up going 4-1 across their entire district tourney run. They opened with a 20-0 route of the host all-star team, Crewe-Burkeville, on June 28. The next day, they nearly orchestrated a comeback win against Dinwiddie National but ultimately fell 10-9.

After a bye June 30, the LCYBL All-Stars returned July 1 for a rematch with Dinwiddie National that they won 11-7, and this put them in position to face Charlotte in the championship rounds.

Lunenburg will begin its state tournament run Friday at 4 p.m. against the Prince George all-star team in Bedford.

Titus Mohler is the sports editor for The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. His email address is Titus. Mohler@KVDispatch. com.