Summer Playoffs Continue

Sunday night the 13 year old Babe Ruth Nash County team won their losers bracket game and by doing so remain alive in the Eastern North Carolina Babe Ruth State Championships.  They won by a 8-7 score.  By winning it is down to two teams Lumberton and Nash County. 

These two played Saturday night and Lumberton won 11-2 so today at 4.pm Nash County and Lumberton square off and in order to advance to the SouthEast Regional in Stafford Virginia, NC must win the 4pm game and turn around and win again at 7.

The 14 Year old Babe Ruth playing in Laurinburg is trying their best trampling through the losers bracket.  Sunday they won 8-4 and at 4 today they play Raleigh and if they win that they get the undefeated team New Bern at 7.  If they are still alive after all that they get New Bern again Tuesday.

Hopefully both Babe Ruth  teams  will see by example that both of the Rocky Mount Little league teams came out of the losers bracket in their district tournaments and were able to beat the winners bracket team twice. The Senior Little league and the Midget  teams are heading to the State tournament in Hickory both start on July 28th.

I have said this before and right now with so  many of our local teams advancing now is a good time to repeat this.  We have an outstanding area for baseball .  The level of coaching at our lower age group is only the first step in why our high schools are so successful.  Our summer recreational leagues are all part of the process as to why Legion ball is successful, high school , Babe Ruth and Little League.

There is a core of little league coaches that have been in the system  coaching someone elses kids for their lifetime.  Year in and year out the good ones always have good teams.  Yes there is a certain amount of luck but the core guys know how to coach and love coaching little leaguers.  I thank everyone of them that give of their time to our kids.

I said this last week when the US team beat Brazil in the penalty kicks.  You could see it in their eyes.  Yesterday the US Women's soccer team played like a team that knew they were going to win and twice got the lead and they started coasting.  Japan, I didn't even know they played soccer once they got it to penalty kicks had it won.   Every thing that the Women's team did last week to promote soccer they gave it all back yesterday.   Japan played like a team with nothing to lose and they didn't.