By JUSTIN RUST

The Daily Republic

MOUNT VERNON � Before the year started, the Mount Vernon VFW 15-16-year-old baseball team knew it was qualified for the Class B state tournament.

Mount Vernon is hosting the Class B 15-16 state tournament, meaning the team is automatically qualified.

But the team has not had much trouble qualifying in the last decade. This will be the 10th straight year Mount Vernon has qualified for the state tournament, which is a state record at any VFW level, according to coach Derrion Hardie.

Even though Mount Vernon is automatically qualified, Hardie said he thought the team would have a good chance at making state anyway.

�This year will probably be the most difficult at the varsity level because we only have three 16-year-olds, but we still had a good chance of making it,� he said. �It�s a young team, so I am looking forward to seeing how the team develops throughout the year.�

Last year, both of Mount Vernon�s VFW teams, the 15-16 team and the 13-14 team, finished runner-up at the state tournament.

Hardie�s teams are experiencing plenty of success again this year. The 15-16 team is 5-1 and the 13-14 team is 7-0.

Hardie said the 15-16 team lost quite a few players from last year, but the players from last year�s 13-14 team that have moved up have kept the strong tradition alive.

�The team has potential, but potential means you haven�t done anything yet,� Hardie said. �It comes down to the quality of the pitching and defense we put out on the field. If the kids work on the fundamentals, then the kids will be happy with the results.�

Mount Vernon hosts Emery/Alexandria at 5:30 p.m. today.