By By Ryan Satcher / staff writer
July 17, 2003
For the first time, teams from Decatur, Union and Newton combined for all-star competition and the results were very positive.
The Dizzy Dean 9-and-10-year-olds came in fifth in the state and the 11-and-12-year-olds came in fourth in the state tournament.
The 9-10-year-olds competed in the state tournament hosted by Oak Grove in Hattiesburg. They were able to come away with a fifth-place finish in the 16-team double-elimination tournament.
The team, called the East Central All-Stars, won its first two games in the state tournament and was one of just four undefeated teams remaining after the first two days. East Central lost its next two games, however, and were eliminated from the tournament.
The team was able to compete in the state tournament because of its success in the district tournament that was held in Louisville.
The 9-10-year-olds won two games to move through the winner's bracket, but were beaten twice in the championship and had to settle for a runner-up finish.
Much of the success of the team came from the combining of the three city leagues.
The decision to combine the teams also worked out well for the 11-and-12-year-old East Central all-stars.
The team competed in Dizzy Dean competition and finished four in the 18-team state tournament.
The 11-12-year-olds battled through the district tournament in Louisville to reach the state tournament.
They went through the winners' bracket, but fell to Meridian twice in the finals and had to settle for runner-up in the tournament.
The finish was good enough to qualify for the state tournament in West Point and the team played good baseball in the tournament.
They beat Horn Lake, Leavell Woods and Pearl during competition, but fell to Meridian and Oak Grove.
Their play was good enough to finish fourth out of the 18 teams that were competing in the tournament.