vidalia — Trenton Miller was swinging a hot bat for the Concordia Parish 11-year-old All-Star team last weekend in Monroe.

Miller pounded five home runs in five games to help the Concordia 11s to a 4-1 record and a district-tournament championship.

“It surprised me (that I hit so many),” Miller said. “It was awesome. We all played good.”

Miller’s power impressed the opposing coaches enough that they feared him in the later games.

“(The home run) against Monroe in the fourth game was my favorite,” Miller said. “They coach intentionally walked me the next two times.”

Miller was not the only Concordia player that was red-hot during the tournament, however. The team scored 49 runs in five games.

“They all played really well,” Concordia coach Trae Weatherly said.

Concordia’s district championship earned the team a spot in the State Tournament this weekend in Ponchatoula, La.

Weatherly said this would be the team’s second-consecutive appearance in the state tournament.

“Most of these kids were All-Stars, and they have good experience,” he said. “It’s not us coaching. The kids, at this age, know what to do, and we just give them a little discipline.”

Weatherly said the team had Monday off after its grueling weekend, but it was back to work Tuesday night.

“We are getting back to basics and letting them get on the field a little bit,” he said. “We don’t want them to get complacent with big games coming up.”

The Concordia 11s will open with Alexandria Friday night, before playing games against Haughton and Ponchatoula Saturday.

The team that advances out of pool play will go to the championship game Sunday.

Weatherly said he expects the competition to be stiff this weekend.

Miller said he hopes his bat stays hot, and he can help lead his teammates to a state championship.

Concordia 9s advance to state tournament

Head coach Buddy Brown took a confident bunch of 9-year-olds up to Monroe last weekend for the district tournament.

But Brown said he felt his team may have been too confident, and that led to struggles on the field.

“We didn’t reach our expectations,” he said. “Our first goal was to go and win district. We fell short on that. But our second goal was to qualify for (the state tournament), and we succeeded doing that.”

The Concordia 9s went 1-2 in the district tournament in Monroe, but still managed to qualify for the state tournament in Ponchatoula this weekend.

“Our kids were very unhappy about the way they played,” Brown said. “But we are excited about going to Ponchatoula.”

Brown said his team struggled with the bats in its two losses to Sterlington and Monroe last weekend, and hitting has been a focus at practice this week.

“Monday our main focus was offense — hitting and running the bases,” he said. “That’s where we fell short on the offensive end.”

Brown said the Concordia 9s pitching did fine in Monroe, and the team has plenty of arms to throw this weekend.

Brown said he thinks his team got a wake-up call in Monroe.

“You can see the difference (this week),” he said. “There is a change in attitudes. They were culture shocked, because we thought we we’re going to win district. At practice you get the feel that reality hit them in the face. We didn’t reach our goals, and they set out to have more determination.”

Brown listed his top pitchers in the district tournament as: Peyton Fort, Rhet McDonald, Sam Mosby and Cody Brown. He said he expects those four, and several others, to be ready to go this weekend.

The Concordia 9s will face Thibodaux, La., to open the state tournament at 8 p.m. Friday.