Players stay sharp with Babe Ruth baseball

This article originally appeared in the Times Argus on July 2nd, 2013.
By Bradley Smart

CORRESPONDENT

The Mountaineers are hitting their stride and Little League All-Star tournaments kick off this week, but not to be lost in the shuffle is Babe Ruth baseball.

This year marks the first time in more than a decade that the U-32 district will field two full teams for Babe Ruth, which is open to players in the 13-15 age range. Babe Ruth baseball was founded in 1951 and consists of four divisions: 13-year-old Prep, 13-15 years old, 16-18yearsold and 16-year-old Prep. Each of these divisions feature multiple districts, with teams entering tourneys after the regular season in an effort to advance to the Babe Ruth World Series.

Last year championships were crowned to division-winning teams from New York, Arkansas, New Jersey and Kentucky. A Vermont squad has never made it past the New England Regional. 

Since the New England Regionals’ inception in 2001, the winners have gone a combined 16-24 during the Little League World Series.The New England champs have gone down in the group stage seven times, and the farthest they’ve made it is fourth place. That happened during back-to-back years, with both teams from Massachusetts.