Sikeston all-stars qualify for state

The Sikeston 12-year-old all-stars

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston 12-year-old district all-stars have been very busy in the month of July. The stars have played in three tournaments, posting a 13-0 record with three first place finishes.

The first tournament was the Sikeston Invitational. The squad won six games in a round-robin, posting impressive victories over Sikeston Black, Bloomfield, Dexter and East Prairie twice.

The following week, Sikeston headed south to compete in the 18-team Portageville Tournament.

Sikeston won five straight to claim the championship, posting victories over New Madrid, Campbell, Portageville, Hayti and Scott County.

In the title game against Scott County, Garrett Limbaugh pitched a complete-game no-hitter, recording 14 strikeouts in a 9-0 victory.

The district was played on Friday, where Sikeston took a pair over the Kennett All-Stars, 28-0 and 16-1, securing a trip to Lebanon for the state tournament.

The team was led to victory in the first game by the pitching of Timmy Bell and Adam Martin. In the title game, Nick Lambert and Tyler Ramey held the Kennett bats in check, allowing just one run.

"As usual, all 12 players helped earn the district crown," said coach Terry Lambert. "The boys are very excited about going to state, but also they understand the business at hand."

The Sikeston All-Stars are now preparing for the state tournament, which starts Thursday and ends Sunday.

The roster includes Seth Baker, Chase Ferrell, Scotty Droddy, Clayton Mayfield, Hunter Dillender, Garrett Limbaugh, Timmy Bell, Tyler Ramey, Josh Pierce, Matt Rushing, Nick Lambert and Adam Martin.

The team is coached by Terry Lambert, Jeff Martin and Justin Ramey.

"These are a very good group of boys who are not afraid to work hard," said Lambert. "I could not be prouder of these boys. Hopefully we got to state and play as well as we have been playing."

The Sikeston 12-year-old all-stars pictured front row, from left, are: Hunter Dillender, Matt Rushing, Josh Pierce, Tyler Ramey, Adam Martin and Clayton Mayfield; second row: Scott Droddy, Timmy Bell, Chase Ferrell, Seth Baker, Nick Lambert and Garrett Limbaugh; coaches: Justin Ramey, Terry Lambert and Jeff Martin.