The Laurel/Jones County Dixie Boys 13- and 14-Year-Old All-Stars will begin play Saturday in their respective state tournaments. The 14’s will play in Hattiesburg at Kamper Park while the 13’s will be in Cleveland. Both the Laurel squads are the defending state champions.

The L-JC’s 14’s drew a tough first round foe in Petal.

“From what I have seen, Petal, Magee, and Columbia are going to be strong contenders for the title,” said Laurel manager Kerry Hill.

The local squad did not get to play in a district tournament this year but did play in the Laurel Bash and this past weekend went to Louisiana where they won a select tournament. Hill is pleased with his team and their hard work in getting ready for the state tournament.

“I would say overall our team speed and our ability to play defense are our strengths.”

Laurel will play their first game at 11:30 Saturday morning in the second game of the day. Magee meets Greenville at 9 a.m., while in other games Natchez and Kosciusko play at 2 p.m., Yazoo City and Columbia tangle at 4:30, while Hattiesburg and Pascagoula play at 7 p.m. Four games will be played Sunday, beginning at 11:30 a.m.

13’s In Cleveland

Laurel/Jones County 13-Year-Olds manager Mike Strickland is looking forward to his trip to Cleveland this week with his local stars.

“We have an excellent team and should be in the hunt,” said Strickland.

Strickland has only seen Hattiesburg and Petal play and says they should also be in contention for the state championship. Strickland says the strength of the local team is his pitching staff but also says the squad should be a good offensive team.

The local team has played in the Laurel Bash and has had several scrimmages in preparing for this tournament. The L-JC team did not have to play in a district tournament.

Four games are on tap for Saturday as Jackson and L-JC will play at 4 p.m. along with Lawrence County and Hattiesburg. The two night games at 7 p.m. are Magee vs. Natchez and Petal vs. host Cleveland.