The South Columbus All-Stars will represent North Carolina in the first-ever Dixie Youth O-Zone Baseball World Series that opens Saturday at Dothan, Ala.

South Columbus, which won the North Carolina O-Zone championship at Riegelwood on July 18, will go against the Virginia champion on Saturday at 6 p.m (CDT) in the opening round of the 12-team double-elimination event. The World Series will run through Thursday.

“O-Zone” play utilizes 70-foot bases and 50 feet between the mound and homeplate. Base-stealing, pick-offs, batter advancing on third strikes not caught by the catcher are fair play.

“Our kids have enjoyed playing the game this year and they are really excited about being able to play in the first O-Zone World Series,” said South Columbus head coach Raymond Hilburn. “It will be interesting going against teams from other states to see how much they have adapted to it.”

The team departed this morning for Dothan.

“It’s been more than two weeks since the state tournament but we have managed to keep everybody busy with some good practices,” Hilburn said. “We’re ready to start playing again.”

Members of the South Columbus All-Stars are Travis Hilburn, Storm Phillips, Thomas Ward, Jaden Caines, Daniel Fowler, Samuel Ward, Grayson Bullock, Reno Duncan, Logan Simmons, D.J. Jeter, Chris Lewis, Eric Long and Matthew Lee. Assistant coaches are Michael Hilburn and Donald Ward.