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Sports

Local Travelers Represented in SLABA All-Star Game

Two Meramec Valley Travelers teammates excel for the South team in the 16-and-under SLABA All-Star Game.

A dozen Meramec Valley Travelers players made it to the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association all-star games on Monday night.

The Travelers mostly use players from Eureka and high schools. Twelve Travelers overall played Monday night, with four in the 16-and-under game and another eight in the late night-cap for boys age 18 and younger.

It was Seckman High’s Brandon Smith, not a Traveler, who earned most valuable player for the South, though, in the 16-and-under game at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. He delivered two hits, had an RBI and scored a run that helped his team build an early 5-1 lead.

"Brandon is such a fun kid to watch play," Jefferson County Blazers 18U head coach Dustin Bain said. "We didn't know a whole lot about him before the season. But he had a great summer, and it's really nice to see him get this recognition here tonight. He's a great kid."

Bain was chosen to coach the South team.

Other South candidates for MVP were Valley Park High and Meramec Valley Travelers teammate Austin Martin, who had a hit and was on base twice, and Travelers player Brendan Sullivan. He played the entire game, got a hit and scored a run.

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Even though he's an outfielder, Smith's team certainly could’ve used the MVP on the mound. The South’s all-star hurlers let the North tie it up in the fifth, and then gave up nine runs in the sixth. That led to an eventual 14-9 loss.

Smith, also a leadoff hitter, represented Jefferson County after he hit .356, with two home runs and 26 RBIs this summer.

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Fort Zumwalt South’s Jordan Townsend, a reserve outfielder who was representing the Stallions Baseball Club of Wentzville and St. Peters, and didn’t enter the game until the fifth inning, was named the North MVP.

He smacked singles in his first two plate appearances and drove in the go-ahead runs in the sixth to spark the come-from-behind victory for the North.

North teammate Dillon Dalton, soon a junior at Francis Howell North, represented the American National West Eagles and was the winning pitcher for the North. He pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

In the , the North beat the South, 14-9.

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