Dunklin County builds momentum with Paducah tournament title

Dunklin County might have stepped into the driver's seat for the upcoming American Legion zone tournament after it went 6-0 to win a big weekend title.

Dunklin County (24-4) won six games in the four-day Polk Brooks Invitational at Paducah, Ky., including the decisive 15-11 win over Columbia, Tenn., for the championship Sunday. Columbia won the 2007 American Legion World Series.

Dunklin's most narrow escape came in its very first game, a 10-9 win over Lyon County — a game Lyon County led until the final inning. Wins over Gallatin, Tenn., Florissant and Paducah completed a sweep of its pool. Dunklin defeated Terre Haute, Ind., in Sunday's semifinal.

Dunklin County hosts zone rival Cape Girardeau in a key doubleheader at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The zone tournament — hosted by Cape Girardeau — starts in a little over three weeks.

Several Southeast Missouri teams were included in the Paducah field, but only Dunklin County advanced to the semifinals. Cape Girardeau and Ste. Genevieve both went 3-1; Jackson was 0-4.

Another big tournament over the weekend ended with a Poplar Bluff championship. The senior American Legion team defeated Charleston's senior Babe Ruth team Sunday in Poplar Bluff's eight-team tournament.

Click here for a full list of scores from the weekend.