Starkville's 8-year-olds win pair big
July 24, 2011
The Starkville 8-year-old Coach-Pitch All-Stars defeated two teams by a combined score of 36-1 Sunday afternoon. (Submitted photo)
SOUTHAVEN – The Starkville Longhorns 8-year-old Coach-Pitch All-Stars had quite a day Sunday at the Dizzy Dean World Series.
Starkville won a pair of games by outscoring its opponents 36-1.
After defeating Hernando 19-1 in five innings, the Longhorns came back later in the day to knock off Bradley (Tenn.) Cubs, 17-0 in four frames.
"The team just played well all day," Starkville coach Keith Lawrence said. "I was thinking since the state tournament that there wasn't any way this team could play any better, but they really came out and were clicking on all cylinders (Sunday) offensively and defensively."
Against Hernando, the Longhorns scored seven runs in the first inning, then added six in the second and six more in the third.
Hernando only had one base runner to reach third base in the game, which scored on an error.
Lawrence said his squad continues to play good defense.
"When you are playing defense like we are playing, it's hard to put up any runs," Lawrence said. We were able to catch up to everything, cut it off in the gap and hold them to singles."
Starkville had two hits each from Keyshawn Lawrence, Nyjal Johnson, Jackson Owen, Keyvon Pearson and Qae Williams against Hernando.
Once the Longhorns put the finishing touches on the victory over Hernando, the team was able to rest a bit while coach Lawrence scouted the next opponent Bradley against Tampa.
"They were beaten real bad by Tampa and I saw their weak spots," Lawrence said.
Starkville was able to exploit those weaknesses and shut out Bradley.
Once again, the defense was the story for the Longhorns.
"It's beginning to sound a bit redundant, but our defense continues to be solid," Lawrence said. "Bradley put the ball in play, but when you pop it up, those are outs when you play us."
Tae Lucious led Starkville offensively with three hits, including an inside the park home run, and four runs batted in. Johnson also drove in four runs with three hits and Owen had three hits. Riley Dawkins, Cedric Hines and Keyshawn Lawrence had two hits each.
The Longhorns were awaiting to see if they are the No. 1 or No. 2 seed as they move forward into this week's schedule of the tournament.
Depending on the seed, Starkville will play today at either 9:30 a.m. or 11 a.m.
