Glenn Whittington hopes his team has a better outcome at this year’s Dixie Youth 12U Ozone state tournament.

After hosting last year’s event in Vidalia, the Concordia team will once again have home field advantage when eight teams begin play this Friday at the recreational complex.

Whittington watched carefully at Tuesday’s practice in Ferriday, barely saying a word until someone made a mistake.

Eventually, Whittington had seen enough. He called his players together for a huddle and before long they were running laps around the field.

The reason — Whittington simply doesn’t want to lose the first two games like Concordia did last year.

Concordia is returning just three players from last year’s team, but assistant coach Roy Reyes said the mix is still a good number between 11- and 12-year-olds.

“We know what to expect this year, and we have a great group of guys,” Reyes said. “These are definitely the strongest ones out of the league. They are true all-stars.”

Helping them to hopefully at least one win in front of their home crowd are pitchers Ethan Keith and Gage Cupstid.

“They are two really great pitchers,” Reyes said.

Another strength will undoubtedly be the local fans, Reyes said, but also the energy they will bring to the tournament.

“It’s easy to get them pumped up, especially at this age,” he said. “It doesn’t take much, but the challenge will be keeping them pumped up.”

Concordia will play its first game of the tournament at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Jackson Parish.