SIKESTON HOSTING AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

SIKESTON -- Five American Legion baseball teams will battle for a state berth when the Zone 4 Tournament begins today at Sikeston's VFW Park.

Four district champions qualified for the zone tourney while Sikeston earned a spot as host team.

Dunklin County won the Southeast Missouri district title by beating Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons in last weekend's championship game.

Other district winners are Chesterfield and Anheuser-Busch from the St. Louis area, along with Festus.

The double-elimination tournament will kick off today with two first-round games: Dunklin County vs. Chesterfield at 5:30 p.m. and Sikeston vs. Festus at 8:30.

There will be four games Friday, starting with a 10 a.m. elimination contest between Thursday's losers.

At 1 p.m., Anheuser-Busch will see its first action by taking on the winner of Sikeston-Festus. Another elimination game will be played at 5:30, followed by the winner's bracket final at 8:30.

Saturday, the loser's bracket final will be at 1 p.m., with the championship scheduled for 7 p.m. If no team is undefeated, a final championship contest would be played at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Among the area teams, Dunklin County is 32-10 while Sikeston is 32-17.