13s headed to Kalona eyeing in-state World Series
For a group of 12 and 13 year olds, a trip to the World Series is on the line this week in Kalona, Iowa.
Playing in the Babe Ruth 2016 Midwest Plains Regionals, the Boone Babe Ruth 13s have a chance to move on to the Babe Ruth World Series, hosted in Ottumwa starting Aug. 11.
“It’s going to be great going down there,” shortstop Ryan Hulse said. “It’s more baseball, more expereince for these guys, and if we do it next year, we’re going to know what the other teams are like.”
The 13s were underway Wednesday evening, starting pool play with Baxter Spring, Kan. Boone will have four games during pool play, with the winner of the pool receiving an automatic berth in the semifinals. The second and third place teams will square off for a spot in the semifinals.
13 players comprise the Boone Babe Ruth team. Head coach Jeff Needham said the team is starting to gel together, and he has a good feel for players’ desired positions.
“Basically, I’ve got a team of all pitchers and catchers, then a whole bunch of infielders, outfielders,” Needham said. “They’re all well-rounded players. They can do whatever they need. I’d definitely say eight are very multifunctional.”
“Once we learned everybody’s abilities, we figured out what we can and can’t do well,” Hulse said. “From that, we started to work together as a team better.”
Hulse said his position is something that is not
The players are from the local Babe Ruth league. The league plays teams within the Boone Babe Ruth league. Needham said the league will try to schedule games with teams from surrounding communites like Ames and Madrid, but it becomes difficult at times.
“My oldest boy, he just turned 16 this year, we followed it through him, so I kind of know the other teams and know the other coaches,” Needham. “Up around here, there’s hardly anyone around here that does Babe Ruth. It’s basically go straight into high school ball or middle school ball.”
Teams from around the Midwest will be making the trek 20 minutes west of Iowa City for the regional tournament. In total, 10 teams from six states will be vying for a spot in the World Series early next month. Boone, earning second place in the state tournament on July 10 in Boone, and Regional host Tri-County South are representing Iowa in the tournament.
In the state tournament, Boone beat Ottumwa and Bellevue to open the double-elimination tournament, but fell to Davenport on July 9 and was forced to come through the losers bracket. The next day, Boone played Davenport after making their way to the state championship, but fell again to the team from Easter Iowa 7-5.
“They were a pretty good team, but they found us very competitive,” Needham said. “They liked how we did things.”
Boone continues pool play with a game everyday through Saturday. Tonight at 7, the 13s will play SEMO, from Southeast Missouri. Tomorrow night at the same time, Boone will have the Waite Park team from Minnesota, and finish pool play Saturday at 1 p.m. with Bismark, North Dakota. The winner of the regional tournament qualifies for the World Series in Ottumwa, with the first game on August 11. The Midwest Plains winner will be gauranteed four games in pool play through August 15.