Demonstrations of discipline that lead to success can be a special thing to see in life. It is a particularly special thing when that discipline is being modeled by rambunctious 7- to 8-year-old boys on the ballfield.

In recent weeks, we have been able to tell the story of that discipline through our account of the 2018 Lunenburg County Youth Baseball League (LCYBL) Machine Pitch All-Star team. Its success reached historic proportions last week when it claimed the Virginia Dixie Youth Baseball AA Machine Pitch State Championship.

The LCYBL boys have played in 10 games this summer between their five-game run in the District 5 tournament and their five-game run in the state tourney, and the boys have won every time.

In many instances, the victories have come with an avalanche of runs that bury the opposition in a blowout, but the Lunenburg boys have also shown they have the competitive fire and resilience to hang tough in a backand- forth game and come out on top in the end.

Lunenburg experienced its strongest challenge in the state tournament against their district rival, the Charlotte County All-Stars, a team it has faced thrice this summer — once in district play and twice in state play.

In its three non-Charlotte state-level games, Lunenburg outscored its competition 48-6. In its first state tourney meeting with Charlotte July 9, the LCYBL All-Stars persevered and won 15-9.

The teams met again in the state championship July 11 in South Hill, and halfway through the game, Charlotte held a 3-0 lead.

Like it did in the district final, Lunenburg dug itself out of the hole. This time, the boys put together a four-run rally and added runs in the fifth inning and two in the sixth to emerge as the 2018 standard bearer for the state of Virginia.

Congratulations to the LCYBL Machine Pitch All-Stars, and we wish you all the best at the 2018 Dixie Youth Baseball Machine Pitch AA World Series in Lumberton, North Carolina, starting July 28.