Considering that only slightly more than a week ago a Greenville 10-and-under boys softball team was assembled, it is an amazing accomplishment that they've earned entry into the National tournament.

But that was the case, a mere week or so ago, when Coaches David Hancock, Ken Gibson and Steve Lee started to piece together a team strategy for the Alabama Softball Association (ASA) tournament held at Greenville Softball Complex on Saturday, July 21.

"We really had doubts as to whether we could compete or not," said Coach Hancock. "But this is a terrific bunch of boys, and they all played so well together."

Greenville and Chambers County were the two teams enrolled in the 10-and-under bracket, which played out as a best two-out-of-three tournament.

Game 1: Chambers Co. 4, Greenville 2

Greenville started out weak as the visiting team, having difficulty getting past the pitching ability of Chambers County.

It was three up and three down during the first two innings for Greenville, and they managed to send four batters to the plate without a score in the third,

and likewise in the fourth and fifth innings.

Then in the top of the sixth inning, DeMarcus Robinson and Brantley McKeown were each able to score the team's only runs for game one.

On the flip side of the coin, Greenville played good defensively, only allowing four runs for Chambers. Two of them came in the first via a double and a triple respectively from Darius Finley and Jeffrey Jenkins; the other two runs for the team from Roanoke were in the fourth inning, when Finley and Jacob Jenkins each scored a run, both following singles.

Game 2: Greenville 10, Chambers Co. 3

Winning the toss in game two and opting for the first at-bat, Greenville came back with a vengeance in game two, to outscore Chambers by more than three-to-one.

Leading the pace for Greenville was DeMarcus Robinson, with three runs, one from a double and two from singles.

Steven Lee was next for the Camellia City with two runs, both after singles.

Jerrod Lee, Aaron Callen, Kendall Gibson, Caleb Glass and Sanders Hancock each scored one run in this game.

For Chambers County, Malcolm Thomas led the way with his homerun in the first inning, followed by Finley and Jacob Jenkins, who each scored one run in the fourth inning, following singles.

So, with two games down, both Greenville and Chambers County had one game under their belts, forcing a tie-breaking third game.

Game 3: Chambers Co. 12, Greenville 7

This time it was Chambers winning the toss, and choosing to get the last licks, designating themselves as the home team.

But Greenville would not be considered a pushover in this battle for the larger trophy.

Steven Lee started the Greenville boys up when he scored a run following the RBI triple of Aaron Callen.

Chambers' lead-off batter, Finley broke the ice with a run following a triple from Malcolm Thomas, who managed to score two runners later, following an RBI from Adam Tompkins.

Greenville went in and back out after four batters in the second, and Chambers only managed one run in the bottom of the second from Dyland McClendon.

Lee again scored the only run for Greenville in the top of the third, following hits from Tyrone Crittendon and Aaron Callen.

Chambers countered with two runs in the bottom of inning three with Finley and Jacob Jenkins getting the runs.

In the top of the fourth inning, Greenville looked like they had become refreshed, scoring four runs for nine batters. Chalking up in this, their biggest inning, were Kendall Gibson and Trent Jones each with doubles. Caleb Glass and Sanders Hancock each scored following singles.

Chambers prevented Greenville from scoring in the top of the fifth, and themselves scored seven runs, including six in a row starting with their lead batter, Jamarin Bell.

Greenville was only able to counter with one more run from Hancock in the top of the sixth, and so after they again took to the plate in the top of the seventh, they were eliminated in short order, one, two, three by Chambers County.

Chambers won the championship, and the larger of the trophies, with Greenville taking the second place trophy.

Both teams, however, have qualified to play in the National Championship Tournament to be held in mid-August in Panama City, Fla.