Dyer County's Ozment, Haycraft return after solid outing at Sun Belt tourney

Dyer County's Preston Ozment has had little time to celebrate the state championship his baseball squad won in Murfreesboro at the state tournament in May.

Three weeks after winning the first state baseball championship in school history, Ozment, along with Choctaw Dylan Haycraft, boarded a plane and headed for McAlester, Okla. to compete in the Junior Sun Belt Tournament.

Ozment has been the head coach of Team Tennessee for the last three years after serving one year as an assistant. The squad was made up of the top 20 juniors from across the state pooled together to travel and face some serious competition against 10 teams from nine different states.

The squad ended the tournament with a fourth-place finish after going 6-4. Three of the losses came in the bottom of the seventh and final inning.

Though this year's tournament will be the last for Ozment, the newest state championship-winning coach was honored to be a part of such a tremendous amount of talented athletes showcased during his time at the helm of the team.

"It's really been a special experience for me as a coach. Several of these kids that I've had the opportunity to coach for the last three or four years with Team Tennessee will make it to the big-league level, so it's a special feeling being able to coach those type of high-profile players," said Ozment.

While Ozment felt thrilled to be around such highly touted athletes, this year one of his own players made the squad in Haycraft. Though not sure how the senior-to-be would handle the pressure before leaving on the trip, when the tourney was over Ozment was elated at how well Haycraft performed among the best in the nation.

"Being able to take Dylan on my last trip as the head coach was very special. He was the first kid I took out of our program at Dyer County and he performed very well," added Ozment. "Some may have questioned if he was worthy of it when we left, but he proved himself and got a lot of great exposure."

During the tournament, Haycraft played first base and excelled in the designated hitter role. After the 10-game series, Haycraft ended the tourney with two home runs, four doubles and eight RBIs.

"It made me feel good as a coach that we definitely made the right decision in having him on the roster," said Ozment. "He performed on another stage and I saw some things from him I hadn't seen in the last three years. He stepped up and showed he belonged."

Perhaps the biggest plate appearance for Haycraft came against defending champion Team Arizona. In the sixth inning with the score knotted at 4-4 and two aboard, Ozment sent Haycraft to the plate with two aboard. Though somewhat nervous about his decision at the time, Haycraft delivered with the 3-run blast to put Team Tennessee ahead, 7-4. Though Arizona rebounded and eventually won the game, 8-7, Ozment saw a young man that could deliver when it mattered most.

"We put him in some tough situations against some of the top junior pitchers in the nation and he came through. It says a lot about his talent and I was extremely proud of the way he represented our school, and community," said Ozment.

With the tournament over, both Ozment and Haycraft have returned and are able to take a break for a period of time to enjoy their hard work put in during the high school season and Sun Belt tournament.

The 2009 Sun Belt event will be the last for Ozment as head coach, but the Dyer County skipper said he has learned a lot and made a lot of memories over the last four years while associated with the team.

"It's been an honor to serve as coach and do something for our state. These are top-notch kids and being able to be around that type of talent really helps me as a coach," added Ozment. "You get the chance to watch some kids you coached go in the amateur draft or end up as major league players. It's really been an awesome experience this entire year and we're already looking forward to next year and to keeping this thing going at home in Dyer County."