GONZALES - After winning eight games in four days at the Dixie Youth State Championship tournament, the Gonzales All-Stars 8U youth team solidified themselves as the top team in the state of Louisiana and earned a spot in the Dixie Youth World Series for the second straight year.  

"Your head should be high right now. You guys performed like you were supposed to perform and were awesome. That is why you're the Louisiana state champs," Head Coach Max Richter said to his team at practice. 

The Dixie Youth World Series will be held in Ruston Louisiana July 26-30.

"I guess I'll give it a 10 out of 10. It's a big thing because you're number one in the state. You can't get nothing higher or anything," 8-year-old Braxton Lambert said. "Not everyone gets to go in these World Series. You have to fight to get in there."

This team has fought together for the last two years and through it all created a special bond that's led to so much success. 

"The boys have each other's backs. They've become best friends on and off the field," Richter said.

"We have real fun sometimes, but we have to learn from that fun stuff," Lambert said.

For a lot of the kids on this roster full of mostly 8-year-olds, just playing baseball with their friends is it's own reward. As for the people in their hometown of Gonzales, the chance to compete on the big stage and represent the state of Louisiana means so much more. 

"I know that they are still young," Richter said. "I was telling my son the other day that he doesn't realize it's the state championship and what it brings to Gonzales. This is a big deal for Gonzales."

 "Some kids don't realize how good it is to become first in the whole entire state," Braxton Lambert said. "Now we just have to bring it on to the World Series, and if we can bring it to the World Series, I'm pretty sure we can win it all."

The Gonzales All-Stars will begin playing in the tournament Saturday July 27th in the AA Coach Pitch bracket.