Sean Pitman, Sports Editor

Williston Daily Herald

August 6, 1999

Missouri 9-1

Ozark All-Stars

Coach: Billy Williams

Williams has been involved in Babe Ruth for the past eight years. He owns a glass shop as well.

Assistant coaches: Kevin Drake and Brad Steward

Both assistants are high school baseball coaches and provide a great deal of experience.

Game notes: Four towns, Mountain Grove, Norwood, Hartville, Ava, pooled their resources to form this team which finished third at state last year.

They have a six or seven pitchers to draw from but they have no lefties on the staff. They also heated up at the plate with a team average over .500 at the state tourney.

Quotes: "We haven't seen any of the teams, so we're just going to go at it one game at a time," said Williams.

Game day: Aaron Spencer is hard throwing right hander who is also a "smart" hurler and will likely get the starting nod.

Players to watch: Aaron Spencer also hit .800 in the state tournament with four home runs. Williams calls him a "natural".

Nathan Kidd is a "big" kid and the second hurler on the team who provides an intimidating presence on the mound. Nine other players hit .400 or better in the state and district tournaments.

Notes: Ozark lost its first game and came back to win it's next five in the district and state tournaments.

The four towns add up to a population of about 10,200.

Ozark probably had the furthest to drive at around 1,300 miles.

Scorekeepers better be on their toes with two Chases, two Aarons, a Chad and Chance on the team. There are also two cousins, Tommy and Aaron Spencer.