The Charlotte Blaze 8-and-under softball team boasts an outstanding 56-2 record this summer. Three of the 11 players on the roster are from Fort Mill.

The Baby Blaze, as they are known, will play in the World Fastpitch Connection World Series Aug. 7-10 in Myrtle Beach.

The WFC World Series will be played at the Pepper Geddings Complex. Teams will participate in a two-pool play format, then a double elimination tournament.

Fort Mill is represented by left fielder Lauren Collie, outfielder/catcher Jordyn Williams and second baseman Darby Trull. The Baby Blaze has practiced at South Charlotte Middle School since March to ready themselves for tournaments. The team is made up of 8 and 9 year-olds. There are 11 girls on the roster.

The Blaze has many other teams in older age groups. The Baby Blaze will likely stay together next year as a 10-and-under team. They won the WFC Western State tournament championship on June 29 in Marion, N.C. Most recently the team won the WFC Eastern State tourney in Pleasant Garden, N.C., near Greensboro.

They have won every tournament they've entered this year.

"It's crazy what this team has done. They have way surpassed any expectations," assistant coach Tim Collie said. Collie is Lauren's father. Lauren will be a third-grader at Orchard Park Elementary School next month.

Collie said the team won 41 consecutive games to start the season. The girls lost to a team called the Orange Crush in the NSA NC State Championship.

The Blaze was able to regroup and beat the Crush in the championship game to win the tournament.

"The look on their faces was priceless. They didn't know what to do with a loss," Collie said.

The McDowell Flash is the only other team to defeat the Blaze this year.

Mark Williams, Jordyn's father, is also spending the summer with the team as an assistant coach. He is impressed with the girls resolve.

"This is a pretty amazing team. They are unbelievable," Williams said. "It all goes down to a love of the game. You can see it on every girl out there. There are 11 girls on the team and they just click. It's hard to explain."

In the last two tournaments Lauren is hitting .783 (18-for-23), Darby is at .659 (29-for-44) and Jordyn has a .657 average (23-for-35).

Most of the games for this age group are coach-pitched. However the World Series in Myrtle Beach will be machine-pitched. The Baby Blaze has played in just one other machine-pitch tourney this year.

"This team can throw and catch and hit. They don't make mistakes. I think they could beat a lot of 12 year-old boys teams. They are that good," Collie said.

Collie knows good play when he sees it. He was a pitcher at UNC-Charlotte and drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1995.