Sarasota Babe Ruth 14s lose final game of Southeast Regional, finish tourney with 1-3 mark
SARASOTA - A Southeast Regional that began with so much promise for the Sarasota Babe Ruth 14 All-Stars ended in disappointing fashion on Saturday in an eight-inning 7-6 loss to Greenville at Denver Trapp Field in Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
Sarasota finished the four-game tourney with a 1-3 record. His team having been eliminated in a 3-0 loss to Tallahassee on Friday, Gennett mixed and matched his lineup against Greenville, which was similarly bounced on Friday in a 4-3 loss to host Lawrenceburg.
Sarasota fell behind Greenville 6-0 before rallying to tie the game 6-all in the top of the seventh on a triple by catcher Nelson Dominguez, followed by a sacrifice fly by center fielder JD James. But Greenville won it in the bottom of the eighth on an unearned run off Sarasota pitcher Olivia Lockhart, who hurled the final 2 ⅔ innings. Six Sarasota errors allowed six unearned Greenville runs to score.
Sarasota managed just four hits in the game, but took advantage of nine Greenville walks by four pitchers, two wild pitches, and a hit batter to score its six runs.
Afterward, Gennett was asked if he was disappointed with finishing the regional with a 1-3 mark.
“No, I wouldn’t say disappointed,” he said, “I would say I wanted (his team) to play to their best abilities. Some guys did, and some guys didn’t. I basically told them after the game, ‘Hey, whatever you do in life, care about it. Take pride in it, unless you want to work in McDonald’s for the rest of your life. You’re going to have to learn how to grow up and focus and do the things necessary to have success.”’
The Sarasota Babe Ruth All-Stars 13s and 15s begin play next week. Sarasota 13 is in the three-team National League with Melrose Florida and Waxhaw North Carolina in the host city of Clemmons, N.C. Sarasota will play Melrose at 10 a.m. on Thursday, followed by a 4 p.m. game against Waxhaw. Whichever NL team is in first after its two games will play again on Saturday at 10 a.m. in one semifinal game in a single-elimination playoff, with the title game set for Saturday at 4 p.m.
The 15s begin play on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. against Greensville Virginia in the host city of Greenville, N.C. Head coach Mike Marquez’s team then has games on Thursday at 10 a.m. versus Roanoke Rapids North Carolina, Friday at 10 a.m. against host Greenville, and Saturday at 10 a.m. against Arlington Virginia. Only the team in first place at the end of the four-day tournament advances to the Babe Ruth World Series.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Babe Ruth 14s lose final game of Southeast Regional, end 1-3
