Sky's the limit for baseball player, 11, born without his left hand

— -- July's been a great month for Keenan Briggs and the players on the Warren County South All-Stars in Kentucky.

On Wednesday, the team of 10- and 11-year-olds took home the state championship, 6-0, after winning 10 games in the postseason and scooping up the state tournament.

And on July 1, during the first game of the postseason, Keenan, one of the team's pitchers, hit his first over-the-fence home run.

"Once I hit it, I looked up and I saw it had a chance, it was high enough to go over," Keenan said. "I was like, 'Did I really do this?' I was so happy. ... Now I know I can do it."

It was a huge deal for Keenan, who was born without his left hand and forearm. While he'd hit homers inside the park, Keenan hadn't been able to hit the ball over the fence and it was a feat that he feared he'd never achieve.

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"About three to four days before Keenan hit the home run, he expressed to us that the fact that a lot of his friends were hitting the ball really hard ... and in games were hitting the balls over the fence," said his mother, Crista Briggs. "He said, 'I'm afraid I won't ever be able to do that,' and we told him, 'Don't even try to focus on hitting a home run -- that may never happen -- what we want you to focus on is just hitting on the ground and running really hard.'"

His father, Kevin Briggs, said he was celebrating so much after the hit that he didn't even see Keenan round the bases.

"I was like, 'Wow, he did it. He did it,'" Kevin Briggs said.

Keenan's parents said that from the moment Keenan was born, they'd decided to treat him no differently and to give him every opportunity.

Kevin Briggs said that Keenan has played a variety of sports and had excelled and won awards.

"He just figures it out," Kevin Briggs said. "He has just figured out a way to do it and he did that from a very early age. ... For me, it's a combination of a lot of the hard work that Keenan has put in to be able to compete at this level. ... He works really hard at it."

Crista Biggs advised parents to try not to worry too much about children who are without a limb.

"They will figure things out on their own," she said. "They will learn their own way of doing things and they will succeed. It takes a lot of hard work and determination, practice, commitment but in the end, if they put in the time, it will be such a reward for them."

Next up on Keenan's list: throwing a no-hitter.

"I like just striking people out and having fun," he said. "It feels good. I mean, I just feel like I'm no different than anyone else."