Sarasota Babe Ruth baseball sends three teams to Southeast Regional tournament
SARASOTA – George Herman Ruth, no doubt, would be rooting for Sarasota Babe Ruth.
“The Sultan of Swat” wore No. 3 during his legendary career with the New York Yankees, the number of teams Sarasota is sending to the Babe Ruth Southeast Regional tournament.
By winning their state tournaments, the 13-year-old, 14 and 15 squads moved a step closer to the Babe Ruth World Series. The 14s begin play Wednesday in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, the first of four games in four days. The 13s and 15s start next Tuesday in, respectively, Clemmons and Greenville, North Carolina.
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Since Sarasota Babe Ruth started in 1955, it’s the first time three teams in the same season have qualified for regionals.
“We’ve had two teams,” said president Todd Williams, who sits on the league’s board with vice president Pete Orser, secretary Carl Luer, and treasurer Don Gardner. “Sometimes it was one, and sometimes none. Never had three. But Sarasota is a baseball town.”
The 13 and 14 teams took the hard way to regionals, forced to win their state crowns coming through the losers’ bracket. All three are all-star teams, the players on each having been voted on by the league’s head coaches.
“No, I didn’t see (three advancing),” said Williams, the league president since 2016. “I knew we were deep in the 14s and 15s. I didn’t know what to expect. It was a good job by all the coaches.” Former Sarasota Sailor and Cincinnati Red Scooter Gennett coaches the 14s, while Michael Marquez heads the 15s, and Jimmy Smith the 13s.
The Sarasota 14 team begins play on Wednesday against host Lawrenceburg. After that are games on Thursday against Marshall Company from Tennessee, Friday against Tallahassee, and Saturday versus Greenville. A team must win its bracket to advance to the Babe Ruth World Series.
The 14s play in Stafford/Fredericksburg, Virginia starting August 3. The 13s and 15s begin August 10 in, respectively, Glen Allen, Virginia, and Jamestown, New York.
Lockhart holds her own
The 14 team will feature a girl, Olivia Lockhart, who batted .500 during the state tournament. In the early 1990s, Sarasota Babe Ruth had one girl who played baseball for a year before switching to fast-pitch softball.
“I was 4 when I started playing baseball,” said Lockhart, who also plays fast-pitch softball and intends to continue that next year when she enrolls at Cardinal Mooney. “I like softball. It’s a lot faster and more strategic.”
After Lockhart played on Gennett’s regular-season Babe Ruth team, the Black Sox, he knew she was good enough to make the all-star squad.
“She just looked like one of the (guys) out there,” Gennett said. “In the infield, she’s just as good as anybody out there, so I took her. She surprised me with her instincts. She’s a damned good player.”
“She’s the only female I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Williams said. “And she is legitimately better than most of the kids. I wasn’t sold, because I didn’t see her enough. Then we sat and watched her whole tournament, and she just stood out. She stood out with everything she did.”
And what does an opposing batter say when struck out by a girl? “Usually they are kind of embarrassed,” Lockhart said. “They still say, ‘Oh, you got struck out by a girl.’ ’’
“She makes all the plays, she throws strikes, and puts together good at bats,” Gennett said. “She’s just a great player.”
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Babe Ruth sends three teams to Southeast Regional tournament
