The Tega Cay Fort Mill Yellow Jackets Little League baseball team lost in the semifinal round of the Southeast Regional Tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The 5-0 loss to the team from Florida on Aug. 6 ended a remarkable season for the team of all-stars.

Had TCFM won the game, the team would have played in front of a national television audience on ESPN. Florida went on to beat Alabama in the finals, 11-0, to advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., later this month.

TCFM won its first two games in the tournament. The Yellow Jackets beat Virginia, 5-0 and North Carolina 8-4. The team lost 4-3 to Alabama before the Florida contest.

Fort Mill Police Chief Jeff Helms coached the team. He felt good about the kids' chances before they left. But when he saw the size of some of the players on other teams in the tournament he was surprised.

"We did better than I thought after we saw teams walk in the first night. Some of the kids were 6-foot-2," Helms said by phone from Florida last Friday.

"We are disappointed we didn't make the championship game, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. The players, coaches, fans, parents and grandparents represented Fort Mill very well. The community is so supportive. We have received so many phone calls and e-mails while we've been here."

Helms said there were a lot of tears after the loss to Florida.

"We hit line drive after line drive right at people. If some of those hard hit balls had fallen maybe the game would have been different. [However,] it was a great experience," Helms said.