Reaching the Homeschool World Series wasn't easy for a group of local students. It took the program eight years and an extra-inning victory to achieve the dream.
It's been a historic year for the Richmond Patriots, who have grown from a "scrappy" gang that just wanted to play baseball into a formidable opponent that, for the first time, will send some players to college programs.
This week they're in Pensacola, Fla., for the national championship tournament. It's the first time a Richmond-area team has made the event.
The Patriots are part of the Central Virginia Homeschool Athletics Association. Head coach Gregg Tobey started the baseball team eight years ago with a handful of parents who didn't have other options for their children.
"Home-educated kids aren't allowed to play on public school teams, so we took it upon ourselves to start a team," he said. "Word of mouth is essentially how it started, and that's how it has spread for the most part."
Today, the Patriots field both varsity and JV squads and attract players from Williamsburg to Charlottesville.
It's no small commitment for the parents, who often juggle activities for other children, as well. But the Patriots are dedicated to their craft, and start practicing during the winter for the upcoming season.
"It seemed to be pretty scrappy at the beginning," center fielder Adam Tobey said. "Four years in was our first good year, when everybody started to get real serious."
Now the team stages three practices a week during the winter at Athletes Complete Training Source, an indoor facility in Midlothian that Tobey co-owns.
During the season, the team, which doesn't have a central school facility, operates out of Rockwood Park. The Patriots play against a mix of public and private schools as well as other homeschool teams in the state.
This year's season took off during a trip to the East Regional of the Homeschool World Series Organization. The Patriots had been to the tournament before, but had never advanced to the World Series round.
After the first day, the Patriots had already recorded a loss in the double-elimination tournament. But facing elimination against Townville (S.C.), they rallied to tie the score and force extra innings. In the ninth inning, the Eagles loaded the bases with no outs, but the Patriots shut them down and then scored the winning runs in the bottom half of the inning.
"That was the game that really got everybody pumped up," Adam said.
After another victory, it was off to Pensacola, where the Patriots (now 19-6) had the worst seed in the tournament. That didn't faze them Monday as they notched a 6-2 victory over the top-seeded Oklahoma City Broncos.
The Patriots clipped the Dallas Angels 10-6 yesterday. They will play today (4:30) against a not-yet-determined opponent.
Senior Jake Settle pitched a four-hitter and blasted a three-run home run against Oklahoma City. Along with Tobey, Settle will play college baseball at Virginia Wesleyan next year. Senior Tommy Hertzler also has played an integral role in the team's success, batting over .400.
While homeschool baseball may not get a high level of national respect, Adam Tobey said the caliber of play in Pensacola is strong.
"There's a lot of really good players. It seems like the teams down here could compete with a majority of the high school teams in Chesterfield and Henrico," he said. "These are some of the best teams we've played if not this year, then in the history of Patriots baseball."
The Patriots have risen to the challenge, and are having a historic year for themselves as well.
Contact Michael Phillips at (804) 649-6546 or mphillips@timesdispatch.com.
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