All-Stars roll to district crown

Members of the Rector All-Stars 2010 Little League Small League District championship team are, from left: Front--Case Watson, Sam Westbrook, Danny Hager, Matthew Hynds, Kasen Green and Kade Scott. Middle--Lawson Ford, Garrett Buck, Austin Beck, Chad Reaves and Hayden Winberry. Back--coaches Kirk Ford, Anthony Buck and Cliff Winberry.
(Democrat photo/Ryan Rogers)

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Rector jumped out to 5-0 lead in the first frame. Lawson Ford got things going with a base hit to right-center for a triple. Austin Beck followed with a slow rolling single up the middle which plated Ford. Up next, Garrett Buck sent a white laser to the centerfield fence for a double, putting two runners in scoring position. Kade Scott tripled through the gap to bring the runners. Later in the inning, Case Watson drove in Scott on an inside-the-park homerun, crossing the plate before the dust settled at first.

Hayden Winberry struck out three in the bottom of the inning to put Rector back in the box with a 5-0 lead going into the second.

Rector scored twice in the second frame, with Ford sending a blast over the centerfield to bring in Winberry on the two-run homer.

Walnut Ridge scored four in the bottom of the second and one in the third to cut the lead to 7-5.

Ford homered again in the top of the fourth, sending another shot out via centerfield for a near picture perfect reenactment of his previous base-clearer, to move Rector ahead 9-5.

Walnut Ridge added one in their half of the fourth, but was limited by a solid effort from Winberry on the mound.

The hosts from Rector, who lost the toss for home team designation prior to the start, notched six more runs in the top of the fifth, as the squad batted around their lineup in the frame.

Walnut Ridge scored three in the bottom of the fifth, with Rector notching another run in the top of the sixth.

Beck retired the side in the bottom of the sixth in relief, as the young stars from Rector came away with the district crown.

Ford was a run-producing machine for the squad, driving in six runs with a pair of two-run homers while going 4-4 with a sac fly on the day. The team as whole did well on offense, securing hits from Winberry, 4-5 with two RBIs; Beck, 3-4 with an RBI, Buck, 2-4 with a walk; Scott, 2-5 with 2 RBIs, Hager 1-4 with a walk; Watson 2-2 with a two-run homer and walk; Sam Westbrook 0-1 with two walks and Chad Reaves, 1-4. Team members Kasen Green and Matthew Hynds may not have earned hits in the championship game, but were key parts of the squad's district run, making impacts in previous outings.

"We came out and hit the ball real well," coach Kirk Ford said of his team's performance. "We took advantage of what they gave us and were able to go up pretty good early on."

Coach Ford credits the work put in by his team for their strong district performance, which has included a guaranteed visit to the state tournament this weekend at Arkadelphia.

"These kids deserve all the credit," Ford said. "They've been out here working and have put in the time to get this far. They earned this championship with a lot of sweat."

This past weekend, the team took part in the Big League District Tournament at Blytheville. Rector lost to host Blytheville, 10-5, in the first round before topping the NEA All-Stars 14-4 in a run-shortened game. Rector was downed by Jackson County/McCrory, 9-7, on Monday to close out their run at Blytheville.

The Rector team will be in action at Arkadelphia this weekend, but the brackets were not yet finalized as the Democrat went to press Tuesday night.