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The 16 year old Mid County Babe Ruth All-Stars won the Southwest Regional Tournament in Vicksburg, Miss. by defeating Tri-County from Weimer, TX in the championship game. After going undefeated in early bracket play, the Mid-County team fell to Weimer, in the opening round of the championship, only to regroup and win the finale by the score of 5-1. The Stars earned a berth in the upcoming 2007 Babe Ruth World Series in Bentonville, Arkansas, starting August 11, which will feature eleven other teams representing their respective regions across the United States. Individual awards: Matt Johnson (LCM) - Tournament MVP and Chad Sims (Vidor) - Slugger Award. Pictured (Standing - L to R): Coach Mike Richard, Austin Sangster, Taylor Thompson, Josh Garza, Coach Jimmy Collins, Matt Johnson, Travis Weathersbee, Blake Snyder, Chad Sims, Trae Hester, Jordan Pitts, Jude Vidrine and Coach Ryan Brauninger. (Kneeling - L to R) Ryan Bearden, Taylor Eaves, Matt Woods, Jesse Griffin, Chaz Bruce, Cameron Collins, Conrad Roberts and an unknown bat boy (provided by a host family).

  • 2 weeks later...
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Babe Ruth veteran leads All-Stars

By Dave Rogers

The Port Arthur News

NEDERLAND – It’s a summer evening and Jimmy Collins is with his Babe Ruth baseball team. Where else would he be?

“My wife, Pam, enjoys me being involved with this,†says the 49-year-old industrial salesman, “because she always knows where I’m at – either the ballpark or home.

“Sometimes, after I’ve been cooped up in the house for two or three winter months, she can’t wait for spring to roll around.â€

Collins, manager of the 16-year-old Mid-County Babe Ruth Senior League All-Stars who open play this weekend in the Babe Ruth World Series at Bentonville, Ark., has spent more than 30 years in Nederland’s teenage baseball leagues named after the game’s first great home run champion.

“I played Babe Ruth here in the 13-15 and 16-18 age groups,†Collins recalls. “Then, when I was 18, I started helping coach with Dennis Stuckey

“I took one year off to build a house 17 or 18 years ago, but other than that, I’ve been with it ever since.â€

When Collins accompanied the 16-year-old All-Stars to their Southwest Regional tournament in Vicksburg, Miss., late last month, it was his 20th Babe Ruth regional tournament to coach in.

This will be his eighth time to lead a squad at a Babe Ruth World Series. Other years, when the age group squad he coached failed to qualify, Collins often accompanied another Nederland-based Ruth team to its World Series competition.

After taking the baton from league pioneers Bob Harmon and the husband-wife duo of Alex and Helen Benoit, and getting a big assist from third-decade board member Skip Hopkins, Collins is the most senior of the eight men who are permanent team managers for the clubs in Mid-County’s 16-18 Senior Babe Ruth League.

Hollis Whorton, Clint Landry, Mike Richard, Ben Rogers, Everett Sanderson, Michael Theriot and Collins’ 26-year-old son, Justin, are the others.

That group has been intact for at least five years.

The attraction for the men is simple.

“These guys like the game and want to be around it,†Collins says. “When you can’t play it no more, this is the place to be.â€

From coast to coast, Collins has traveled to World Series events with the teenage ballplayers.

Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia tops the list of sights the veteran coach has seen on his Babe Ruth trips.

“That’ll put you back into perspective real quick,†Collins said. “You realize we’re just playing a baseball game. Those soldiers lost their lives so we can play that game.â€

The group playing the All-Star tournaments for the Mid-County league has always been impressive and especially in recent years when the summer Senior League has had an influx of players from outside the traditional Nederland-Port Neches nucleus.

“We had 138 kids from 13 high schools play in our league this year, so we’re pretty much getting the cream of the crop,†Collins says.

The home team for Collins has always included his family. Besides wife Pam and Justin, whose Aug. 12 birthday his dad will miss again because he’ll be away at the World Series, Collins has a daughter, Kaye, 24, and 16-year-old son Cameron.

Kaye ran the league’s concession stand throughout her high school years.

Cameron, a second baseman, is a member of the 17-player squad competing in Arkansas for the next week.

Vidor players Trae Hester and Chad Sims were named MVPs in the team’s winning performances at the East Texas State and Southwest Regional tournaments. Matt Johnson of Little Cypress-Mauriceville won a special batting award at the regional tourney.

Other team members include Justin Vidrine, Jordan Pitts and Conrad Roberts of Nederland; Travis Weathersbee, Matt Woods and Austin Sangster of Port Neches-Groves; and Chaz Bruce and Jesse Griffin of Vidor.

Also, Hamshire-Fannett’s Ryan Bearden and Taylor Eaves; Taylor Thompson and Josh Garza of LC-M; and Bridge City’s Blake Snyder.

  A total of 12 teams are competing in Bentonville, split into two pools of six teams. Each team plays four pool games between Saturday and Wednesday, with the top three teams in each pool advancing to single-elimination bracket play Thursday through Saturday.

Mid-County is playing in the National pool and its schedule starts with a 3 p.m. game Saturday against Puyallup, Wash. Collins’ team plays West End, Penn., at 10 a.m. Sunday; Union County, Ark., at 12:30 p.m. Monday; and Heartland, Iowa, at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Win or lose, you can count on Collins to be back helping run the league next year. How many years after that is undecided.

“We’re going to play it by ear the next couple of years,†he says, “and see what happens.â€

Posted

News of teams entered.

Union County undecided on opening-game starter

BENTONVILLE — The Union County All-Stars are ready to go.

That was the assessment manager Mike Meeks gave of his club as they prepared to leave El Dorado for the 16-year-old Babe Ruth World Series at Phillips Park in Bentonville.

“ We’re ready to play, †said Meeks, a 41-year coaching veteran. “ You get to the point where you can only practice so much and you’re finally ready to play. â€

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Hammond, ID  Winning traditions

In his early 20 s, Buchler will, no doubt, be the youngest manager in this Babe Ruth World Series. Just seven years ago, he was playing for Hammond’s first 16-year-old Babe Ruth World Series team.

“ It was quite an experience, †Buchler said. “ You’re traveling and going up against the best. But the one thing I learned was it’s your schedule leading up to the World Series that prepares you for what’s ahead. It’s so important. You have to be confident and experienced by the time you get there because every day is going to be a grind.

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Worcester, MA

Members of the Paul N. Johnson Phillips Division 16-year-old All-Star team won’t have any problems answering the oft-asked question, “What did you do this summer?†when they return to school at the end of the month. They’ll be spending the next week — and maybe longer — in Bentonville, Ark., taking part in the annual Babe Ruth Baseball World Series.

Most famous for being the birthplace of the Wal-Mart Empire, Bentonville is certainly not your typical tourist trap, but for the 16 Phillips players there couldn’t possibly be a better place to be right now. They ought to feel somewhat at home in Bentonville as well. After all, they will be playing all their games at Phillips Field

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West End, PA

The team left bright and early this morning for the Babe Ruth World Series in Bentonville, Arkansas.

“They’re just ready to go. They’ve been waiting so long and practiced for so long,†said West End coach Jamie Joy. “I could see it last night (Sunday) at practice that they’re there and then all of a sudden towards the end, they were like, ‘Coach, we’ve had enough practice, let’s get to Arkansas and let’s get this thing going.’ The 29th was the end of regionals and since then, we’ve been practice. They’re ready to go. It’s been too long.â€

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Heartland, IA

In the land of Wal-Mart, the 16-year-old Heartland Babe Ruth baseball team will be shopping for at least a trip to the championship bracket of the Babe Ruth World Series.

At the same time, the 16-18 Heartland team will begin play in the World Series in Newark, Ohio. Two Southeast Iowa teams, going for a world championship

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San Luis Obispo, CA

Jordan Goldsmith has spent half his life waiting for that limousine to pick him up in the parking lot of The Home Depot.

And at 16 years old, the time has come. Goldsmith is one of 13 members of the San Luis Obispo Babe Ruth All-Stars, a 16-and-under baseball team.He’s one of nine who’ve been playing together since age 8.

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Posted

Top 7

Puyallup, Wash.............. 6

Mid County Babe Ruth..... 9

Trae Hester (Vid) the starting pitcher, Jesse Griffin (Vid) now

pitching.

Chad Sims (Vid) with rbi in bottom of 5.

6th..Hits by Jude Vidrine (Ned), Matt Johnson (LCM) and

Trae Hester (Vid) with 2B.

Posted

Final

Puyallup, Wash.............. 001-050-0...6-7-3

Mid County Babe Ruth..... 510-012-x...9-10-3

WP Jesse Griffin (Vid)

Matt Woods (PNG) 1-2, 2b

Chad Sims (Vid) 2-3, 2b

Jordan Pitts (Ned) 2-4, 2b

Jude Vidrine (Ned) 1-2

Trae Hester (Vid) 1-3, 2b

Matt Johnson (LCM) 2-3

Taylor Eaves (HF) 1-3, 3b

Jordan Pitts was recognized as the Ron Tellefsen Outstanding Player of the Game for MCBR.

Next pool game: vs West End, Penn., at 10 a.m. Sunday

Posted

Top 5th

Mid-County....5

PA................5

Blake Synder (BC) starting pitcher.

PA had runner called out for coach touching him as he rounded 3rd, run didn't count.

PA protested called and they reversed the call, run scores and it is tied. Mid-County coming to bat in top 5th.   

Posted

Bot 5th

Mid-County....8

PA................5

Blake Synder (BC) starting pitcher.

PA had runner called out for coach touching him as he rounded 3rd, run didn't count.

PA protested called and they reversed the call, run scores and it is tied. Mid-County coming to bat in top 5th.

5th...Taylor Eaves (HF), Chad Sims (Vid) single, Austin Sangster (PNG) triples them home. Pass ball scores Sangster.

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