Summer high school all-star game action will keep many athletesbusy during the hottest time of the year. Last weekend’s all-starbaseball games are followed by all-star soccer action this weekendat Hinds Community College in Raymond.

Directed by the Mississippi Association of Coaches and sponsoredby Baptist Rehab Services, the 13th annual All-Star Girls SoccerGame will be played at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the 26thannual boys game at noon in Joe Renfroe Stadium. Make sure you weara hat and sun glasses. Don’t forget your sunscreen and bottledwater.

Admission is $5 and the tickets are good for both games.

Representing this area on the South boys team are Matt Lofton ofFranklin County and John Price of North Pike. Wes McCullough ofNorth Pike is coaching the dream team

Another player from southwest Mississippi is Ross Smith ofNatchez.

The South holds a 10-7-6 lead in the series since 1985, when theformat was changed from East/West to North/South. The South will beout to avenge last year’s embarrassing 9-1 loss which saw the Northscoring the most goals in the largest margin of victory in all-starhistory.

That’s known as a tough act to follow.

Meanwhile, the South girls are under the direction of Gulfportcoach Chris Pryor. The South team is loaded with girls from theGulf Coast area. Only one player, Brittany Bailey of Brandon, isfrom a school located north of Highway 84.

For sure, the coast is blessed with an abundance of soccertalent.

Last year’s game ended in a 1-1 deadlock. The North owns an8-2-2 lead in the overall series.

Back to baseball. On a sweltering day at Trustmark Park inPearl, the South overwhelmed the North 13-1 Saturday in the Class4A/5A All-Star Game which was sponsored by the Crossroads DiamondClub. Brookhaven pitcher/first baseman Paxton King contributed tothe victory and so did Lawrence County coach Cory Keyes who joinedMichael Henry of Vancleave to co-coach the lopsided victory.

King, The DAILY LEADER’s Mr. Baseball and MVP on the All-LincolnCounty Team for two straight years, had a good outing. He was 1 of5 pitchers who limited the North to just 3 hits.

King, a southpaw, hurled 1 scoreless inning and allowed no hits.At the plate, King lashed an RBI double down the first base lineand scored 1 run himself.

“Everything went real well,” said Keyes. “We got 18 hits totheir three.

“We had four guys who had just won a state championship up here,two from East Central and two from Ocean Springs. They werefamiliar with the field.”

East Central captured the 4A state championship and OceanSprings won the 5A crown at Trustmark Park. Ocean Springs catcherPatrick Kirkland hit a solo homer and a single to earn BestOffensive Player honors for the South.

Ashley Graeter of Poplarville went 3-for-3 at the plate andthrew one scoreless inning to earn Best Defensive Player for theSouth.

Keyes and Henry devised a solid game plan. Each player must playthree innings. “Everything went exactly like we needed it togo.”

King’s coach at BHS, Randy Spring, witnessed the game. He wasimpressed by the South’s performance on offense and defense.

“The pitching was pretty effective,” said Spring. “Obviously,they swung the batts well.”

Spring is having a busy baseball summer. He is a coach for theLincoln County Dixie Youth Major League All-Star Team and his son,Brett, is a member of the squad. He also works with the 13-14-yearold Dixie Boys team and the BHS varsity which is playing a summerleague schedule. He also helps coach his 6-year-old son, Brady.

The North won the Class 1A-2A-3A All-Star Baseball Game 8-5 overthe South, powered by Tevin Houston’s 3-run homer. Houston, fromPhiladelphia, was voted the North’s MVP.

Area players Jonathan Grace of Wesson and Ben McDowell ofFranklin County failed to get a hit for the South. McDowell, asouthpaw who has signed with Co-Lin, pitched 1/3 of an inning. Hegave up 3 runs on 3 hits, fanned 1 batter and walked 1.

McDowell was 1 of 5 pitchers used by the South. Eupora hurlerDevin Jones, a Mississippi State signee, recorded 6 strikeouts andwas credited with a save.

Columbia shortstop Lee “Scoot” McDaniel had 2 hits and was namedSouth MVP.

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O.BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mailsports@dailyleader.com