PHOTO SUBMITTED Members of the Lincoln County 7U All-Stars pose together after finishing their state tournament last weekend in Philadelphia. Team members include, front row, from left, Hayes Howard, Ma-son Floyd, Weston Prather, Ian Esters, Karson Tanksley, Nolan Ballard, Castan Perkins, Cam Pigott, Zaine Jackson, Christopher Nations, and JT Leggett; back row, coach Mike Esters, Lyndsey Jackon, Anthony Prather, and Nicole Prather.

It’ll be a quick turnaround for the parents, players, and supporters of the Lincoln County 7U All-Star baseball team.

The boys from Brookhaven finished in the top three of their bracket over the Fourth of July weekend in Philadelphia at the state tournament.

The LC team, along with their competitors from Vancleave and Lauderdale Counties, all secured spots in the Dixie Youth World Series that will start with opening ceremonies in Texarkana, Arkansas on July 16.

That gives parents a week to get uniforms washed and to start packing ice chests and fans for what’ll surely be another hot tournament.

It’s also another week for the coaches, Anthony and Nicole Prather, Mike Esters, and Lyndsey Jackson to put the team through more practices in order to sharpen them up.

The week is also a chance for the coaches and parents to drum up some financial support for the upcoming trip.

Anthony Prather, whose passion for youth baseball has led him and his wife Nicole to recently open a training academy called D4X LLC, has gone on local radio to get the word out there about the team and the upcoming trip to Arkansas.

The team will carry a banner in the opening ceremony that lists out all the sponsors for their trip. Those interested in giving can reach Anthony Prather at 601-754-0284.

“We finished second in the district tournament and lost pretty badly to Pike County in the championship game,” said Prather. “We practiced eight times between then and the state tournament and when the Pike County coach saw me at the state tournament, he thought we had a completely different team. We really had pushed the kids and gotten some reps in between district and state and the parents have been awesome, the way they’ve supported us coaches. We can’t wait to keep working and see how much better we can get between now and our first game on July 17.”