A night of baseball

KELSO, Mo. -- As the sun sinks and parents take their seats around the ball diamond, young athletes lace their shoes and grab their caps ready to compete in the sport called "America's pastime."

Some of those athletes included the Scott County All-Stars who, after losing last year's championship game, were ready to collect the title from Sunday's final baseball matchup of the 2019 Kelso 11U Showdown.

After coming back from behind, the All-Stars eventually bested the SEMO Cardinals 5-2. Part of the celebration included head coach Matt Asher, whose son Jake is on the team, being doused with the contents of a cooler.

"Just trying to make kids better. That's all we're trying to do," Asher said. "Winning obviously makes everything a little bit better, but we're just trying to do things right."

Assistant coach Lance Miller, whose son Lane is on the team, said the team has been playing together for the last four years and even the parents are "all one big family."

Jake Asher of the Scott County All-Stars throws the ball during the team's victory in the championship game of the 2019 Kelso 11U Showdown.

Ed Landewee of Scott City had four children playing sports in different locations Sunday night, with his youngest, Colton, playing with the All-Stars in Kelso.

"So yeah, I like sports," Landewee said. "It keeps them active for life."

Landewee said athletics keep the children involved with society and interacting in a positive manner with other kids.

Sports teach athletes about themselves and about how to handle adversity, Asher said.

"One big thing that we try to teach is just control your attitude and your effort. If you can control your attitude and your effort, everything else takes care of itself," Asher said.

Landon Stewart of the Scott County All-Stars yells while waiting to bat during the team's victory in the championship game of the 2019 Kelso 11U Showdown.Jacob Wiegand

The coach said teams such as the Scott County All-Stars give kids a chance to meet teammates that attend different schools and form "lifelong friends."

As the contest concluded, the All-Stars had reason to celebrate, and did, but took the time to shake hands with their their opponents before calling it a night.

"It feels good because we tried our hardest," Scott County All-Stars player Cody Massey said about his team's victory.