DEMOPOLIS &8212; The 9U Cal Ripken all-stars completed their final practice Thursday in preparation for their weekend trip to Atalla where they will represent District 10 in the state tournament.

His team, much like the 11U team, received an automatic bid to the state tournament by virtue of the absence of other district teams in the age bracket. In order to combat the rust that generally accompanies such long layoffs and give his team game experience, Parten set up multiple practice games for his squad.

Parten reported his team visited Sweet Water for its practice game against the town&8217;s 10-year-old squad in order to give the squad a taste of playing in an unfamiliar environment.

According to Parten, the team has also taken steps in its practices to simulate game situations.

In addition to simulating game situations and focusing on the standard fundamentals, the coaching staff had to focus much of its early effort on converting certain players to outfielders.

Parten also said his team will have five pitchers at its disposal during the weekend tournament, including Chandler Barton, Nick Nelson, Hunter Colyar, R.J. Cox and Ryan Morrison.