Schuckman: Prep all-star game reminds us just how beautiful baseball can be

Several players from the Missouri and Illinois all-star teams who played in last Saturday night's all-star game at Veterans Field in Hannibal, Mo., grew up playing for the River City Dirtbags. | Submitted photo

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The beauty of baseball can be its simplicity. Pitch, catch, swing and hit. That’s the game at its most rudimentary level. The complexity of it can be just as alluring. Hit-and-runs, double switches, righty-lefty matchups and squeeze plays. The game makes you think, strategize and second guess, often all at the same…

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Schuckman: Return of prep all-star game showcases everything great about baseball

Quincy Notre Dame's Ben Kasparie, left, takes a selfie with Hannibal catcher Keaton Scott before leading off Saturday night's Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star Game at Clemens Field in Hannibal, Mo. | Matt Schuckman photo

HANNIBAL, Mo. — It started with a selfie and ended with a shower. Everything happening in between helped ensure Saturday night’s eighth installment of the Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star Game — the first since 2019 — became a full-tilt celebration of high school baseball. From bunts to bad hops, knee-bending curveballs to wild throws, and…

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Photo gallery: Missouri beats Illinois 7-4 in all-star baseball game at Clemens Field

Palmyra coach Mark Loman, who was the skipper for the Missouri all-stars, gets doused with a cooler of water after the Show-Me State won the eighth Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star Game on Saturday night at Clemens Field in Hannibal, Mo. | Matt Schuckman photo

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent Saturday night at Clemens Field as the eighth Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star baseball game unfolded. Here is a gallery of the images he collected both on the field and in the stands:

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Return of Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star Game comes with bevy of talent from both sides of Mississippi

Quincy High School teammates Grayson Cook, left, and Luke Mettemeyer will represent Illinois in Saturday's Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star Game at Clemens Field in Hannibal, Mo. | Matt Schuckman photo

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Like nearly every other big event during the summer of 2020, the Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star baseball game fell victim to a global pandemic. But Kevin and Aaron Peters, the Monroe City father-son duo who are the braintrust and the legs behind this event, never lost faith the game could return in…

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