A whole new baseball world (Cherokees and Bulls and Cobras, oh my)

It's been a few days since the SEMO Invitational baseball tourney wrapped up and I'm still drinking Gatorade trying to replace all the fluids I lost sweating in the sun from Thursday to Sunday.

For those of you who haven't been around lately (Welcome back!), 22 teams played in the second annual tournament. Most of them were prospect teams from around the region, with the Chaffee Babe Ruth and Cape Senior Legion team mixed in.

I will admit that just a few weeks ago I couldn't have told you what a prospect team was, although I think the more generic term of "traveling team" that I was familiar with suits them pretty well.

The Cherokees Baseball 18u team had an impressive run through the tourney and finished as the undefeated champions, while the Cape Legion team was almost equally impressive finishing second in such a tough field.

Heat aside, I had a great time watching the games this weekend and getting to meet a lot of new baseball people, including (but certainly not limited to) Cape Legion coach/pitching coach extraordinaire Todd Pennington and Cherokees manager Lindy Duncan (and both of their fantastic wives come to think of it). The organization was great as well, from the always updated online schedule (something I probably appreciate more than most) to the shade-providing tents at the fields.

While there are plenty of opportunities to see the Legion teams throughout the summer, this tournament will probably be the only look I get at the prospect teams from the area, including the 17u and 18u Cherokees teams and Lids Missouri Bulls because they usually play away from the area.

For example, the Cherokees are headed up to Mizzou this week for a showcase in front of the Tigers' coaching staff. (This is something I'm very jealous of them for, by the way. It's been too long since I've had an Italian sandwich from the Sub Shop...) Then next week they're heading to Memphis for one of the their most important tournaments of the year.

In the few days since the tournament ended, I've heard from a few more prospect teams and coaches and got some news about a younger Cherokees squad.

The 12-and-under Cherokees beat out more than 50 teams to win the USSSA Baseball Missouri state tournament in Kansas City over the weekend. (That sweet acronym stands for United States Specialty Sports Association in case you were wondering.)

Another traveling team, the 15-and-under Southeast Missouri Cobras (14-4) have won a tournament the past two weekends, according to their coach Brian Anderson. One win came in Illinois and earned the team a berth into an international World Series and the other came in Mississippi.

I'm still a long way from being an expert on summer baseball in Southeast Missouri, but I think I took a small step in that direction over the weekend. You can expect more updates on prospect teams in the future. (Click here to share a story or photo about a team with me.)

I hope and expect that the SEMO Invitational will continue to grow and get better in the coming years and more fans get a chance to come out and watch some of the action since there was a lot of good baseball being played.

That's all for now. I've gone on too long and haven't even gotten to the players that impressed.