Photos by Kyle Green The Roanoke Times

The Phenix City, Ala., baseball team lines up at the start of the 2010 Dixie Boys World Series opening ceremonies held at Christiansburg High School.

Teams representing 11 Southern states will compete for the championship at the Dixie Boys World Series beginning today at the Harkrader Sports Complex in Christiansburg. A team from Texas traveled 18 hours.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- "Play ball!"

That phrase will be uttered time and again in the coming five days as players in the 2010 Dixie Boys World Series take the field at Harkrader Sports Complex in Christiansburg.

On Friday, about 500 fans, parents and teens converged on the town to kick off the annual competition. The town has spent two years preparing for the tournament, including laying down Bermuda grass upgrades to the complex's three dirt fields.

Teams from 11 Southern states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia -- make up the Dixie League. All-star players and state championship teams make it to the national double-elimination competition, which runs through Wednesday. Christiansburg's team, as tournament host, received an automatic bid to play.

For the boys, ages 13 and 14, the games here are the pinnacle, with each dreaming to take home the championship Wednesday night.

"I never thought we'd make it here," said 14-year-old Samuel Lastra, who made the 18-hour trip from Marshall, Texas, to play.

Coming to Christiansburg marks the farthest he's traveled to play, but he said it's worth it.

For others, it's one of the coolest. Brandie Pipkin, whose son Mark plays first and third base for the Sumter, S.C., team, wore a hooded brown sweatshirt to withstand temperatures in the 80s. She said it didn't compare to the 108 degrees and humidity in the Palmetto State.

The Texas team takes on West Seminole, Fla., today at 4 p.m. South Carolina also plays at 4 p.m. against Brunswick County, N.C.

Former Baltimore Orioles standout Al Bumbry is expected to throw out the ceremonial first pitches in each of today's games.

So far, pro players have abounded.

Former ballplayers Mike Williams, a Radford native and Giles High School alumnus who played for four major league teams, and Randy Lawrence, a former Christiansburg High School star who played for Ferrum College and several minor league teams, spoke to players and their families during opening ceremonies Friday night at Christiansburg High School's football stadium.

"Ballparks are fields of dreams," Lawrence said, telling the players to be "ambitious and never accept failure." Meanwhile, he joked with parents.

"What are you feedin' these boys? You got some big ol' boys out there," Lawrence said. While players must be either 13 or 14, some have seen high school action, and the weight room, while others may not have.

Christiansburg Councilman Mike Barber said that some players could take their talents to higher levels.

"I have no doubt that five, six maybe seven years from now I'm going to see some of you all playing college ball, maybe even going on to the pros," he said during opening ceremonies.

The Dixie League is serious business for the players and parents.

During a home run derby and infield races earlier in the day Friday, they shouted words of encouragement. The complex and the nearby parking lots at Christiansburg Middle School were filled with minivans marked with players' names and spirited cheers.

Local businesses said they were gearing up for the tournament, too, in hopes of increasing business.

On Friday, one local restaurant plastered cars with fliers of its menu and a second did so at the opening program. Others are offering inflatable games for children and concessions at the tournament.

Games begin at 1 p.m. today.