The Demopolis 10U Dixie Youth all-star squad will open its sub-district tournament play at Linden Friday night.

“They’ve been working hard,” head coach Chad Hannah said of the girls who make up the Demopolis roster. “It’s been hot. But they’ve been working hard. We’ve got a lot of talent. They are doing real well together. they have been playing together on and off for several years now.”

The girls have spent the last few weeks working on their chemistry, among other things, as many of them are adjusting to new positions following the regular season of the Dixie Youth local league. Hannah said he likes where his team is defensively and is more focused developing its offensive prowess.

“Fielding, we thing they’re pretty good,” Hannah said. “We spend a little more time batting because we think they may see a little faster pitching in sub-district.”

Like many of the Demopolis baseball and softball teams attempting to prepare for all-star play, the 10U girls squad has been forced to withstand practices in considerable heat while also missing a few days due to unfavorable weather conditions.

“We really didn’t have a lot of time to practice,” Hannah said.

Still, in the time the 10U team has practiced, Hannah has sought to accomplish a number of things, not the least of which is identifying his pitching staff.

“We’re still working on our pitchers,” Hannah said. “We don’t know how many we’re going to rotate through yet.”

The Demopolis all-star team will open tournament play Friday night in Linden. The top two teams will advance to district tournament play the following weekend.