Starkville 10's are prepared, ready to play

A couple of warm-up tournaments have the Starkville 10-year-old Dizzy Dean All-Stars primed and ready for their run at a state championship starting today.

The South State tournament starts things off at 3 p.m. in West Point when Starkville takes on Columbus American in the first round.

Coach Steve McKee feels good about where his team is in the early stages of the tournament and, especially at this age, pitching is going to be the difference in winning or losing.

“We have a pretty deep pitching staff and we're above average on hitting in our lineup,” McKee said. “The hardest thing we're going to have is the new pitch count and trying to adjust. It's a very tight pitching strategy that Dizzy Dean has proposed.

“We've got 12 kids on the team and probably seven of them are pitching. The biggest things is throwing strikes. Our group has done a good job of doing that.”

Of the seven that McKee feels he can throw out there on the mound, Tanner McKee, Cameron Sherman, Luke McKenzie and Major Smith will be the players they'll count on the most. At the plate, Smith and Jones Coleman are the big hitters in the lineup that will drive the baseball to the deepest part of the park. Everyone else is swinging the bat well for Starkville also and could cause trouble for pitching staffs this weekend.

The other members of the Starkville 10-year-old All-Stars are Samuel Buckner, Walker Hilbun, Luke Johnson, Bailey Kosko, Conner Lewis, Daveon Tate and Kade Waltman. Assisting McKee are coaches Erich Coleman, William Hilbun and Brad McKenzie.

Also participating in the tournament is host West Point, Saltillo, local team Choctaw County, Union, Fulton and Louisville. The Louisville teams have become a nemesis to Starkville over the years and McKee feels that they'll be the toughest challenge of the tournament.

“I think a lot of the other teams that we play aren't going to have the pitching depth we have,” McKee said. “Louisville will be our toughest challenge. We'll eventually play them if we want to play for the championship.”

The West Point event begins today and if Starkville wins its 3 p.m. game, it will play again on Friday at 5 p.m. If Starkville loses, it will have to play an elimination game tonight at 7 p.m.