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13s earn special place

A team for the ages – well at least at age 13.

Before the Babe Ruth postseason started, Belleville’s Bill Corbin, who knows a thing or two about Babe Ruth baseball and all-star teams, had this to say about the Mifflin County 13-year-olds:

“This might be a special team,” Corbin said, “It has plenty of pitching. Sometimes you get an all-star team that has only two or three quality pitchers. This one has at least six. It has size, especially for a 13-year-old team. And it has experience on the tournament trail (in Little League) as Big Valley did well against Red Land last year and Mifflin County played well against Big Valley.”

Corbin, who has the most wins in Pennsylvania Babe Ruth history with 648, was an assistant coach on the 2004 Mifflin County 15-year-old World Series team that went to Longview, Wash., not to mention the senior Babe Ruth (16-year-old) squad that traveled to Mississippi in 1996.

Of the three Mifflin County teams from the 13-15-year-old league that advanced to a national tournament, this is the first one that will go into the Babe Ruth World Series undefeated (12-0). In 2002, Mifflin County fell in the first game of state tournament to Gettysburg, 6-1 (it was double elimination back in those days), and in 2004, Mifflin County lost to the eventual state champion Aston Valley, 4-3, in semifinals of the state tourney.

Unlike the other two Babe Ruth World Series teams – both 15-year-olds – the local fans have the next two years to see these players perform in the regular season and postseason.

On the roster for the current Babe Ruth World Series team are Colby Bodtorf, Conner Cherry, Casey Conner, Bryce Dobson, Ethan Eichhorn, Brycen Hassinger, Jayden Jackson, Marshall Maidens, Kaden Milliron, Jaxson Pupo, Gage Scheaffer, Cole Schlegel, Brando Souders and Brian Yetter. The coaches are Jared Edwards and Josh Edwards; the manager is Scott Reigle.

During this run to Iowa, there have been plenty of heroes throughout the postseason. The last game, a 5-4 win over Mid-Atlantic Regional host team Queensbury, New York, produced more than its share of special plays:

Colby Bodtorf got to be a star twice in this game. It was his bunt that started the three-run rally in the fifth that got Mifflin County on the scoreboard. And it was his dash for home in the bottom of the eighth off of a wild ptich that sent Mifflin County to the Babe Ruth World Series.

Conner Cherry’s clutch two-out single in the seventh put Mifflin County into a tie, 4-4. Without his hit, Mifflin County would be eating corn on the cob at home instead of in Iowa.

Casey Conner, Mifflin County’s first baseman, gobbled up everything thrown his way at first base, but in the championship game he had a walk in the fifth and it was his base hit in the seventh that helped tie the game.

Ethan Eichhorn didn’t get a hit in the championship game, but something else that he did in that game that helped win the Mid-Atlantic regional title. After the game, I spoke to the Queensbury manager and he said it was the catcher – Eichhorn – whom he felt won the game for Mifflin County. On a hot day with plenty of pressure, he had no passed balls.

Brycen Hassinger had two hits; one, in the big fifth inning, knocked home the second run of the rally.

Marshall Maidens came up with the catch of the day deep in the game. Queensbury had the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth and a ball was hit to left field. The Mifflin County outfielder dove and caught the ball, saving at least two runs.

Cole Schlegel didn’t allow a run in the final four innings after coming in to pitch in relief – not to mention his special at-bat in the fifth. The bases were loaded and the count went deep on him. But, he kept fouling pitch after pitch until he drew a walk and forced in a run, making the score 4-3.

Brando Souders was sent into pinch run for Conner in the seventh. Conner singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Brando came into pinch run and his speed payed off. He moved to third on a groundout to shortstop by Schlegel and scored the tying run on the Cherry single up the middle.

Brian Yetter seemed like a hero on this team before the national anthem was even sung in Milroy at the the start of the District 7 tournament. In the regional championship game, Brian had three hits, drove in the first run of the day with a double, scored a run and was on base five times. He was the starting pitcher and worked four innings before giving way to Schlegel. Brian not only is the team leader, but he practices hard and brings a lot of enthusiam to the game. And always has something nice to say about everyone.

It has been an honor and privilege to cover and work with Babe Ruth baseball in Mifflin County for the past 47 years. As a 19-year-old scorekeeper for Belleville in 1970, I never dreamed that I would be in a league that would go to three Babe Ruth World Series and win 21 state titles (20 in my time – I was only 10 when Mifflin County won its first state championship).

People think that I’m kind of crazy for keeping all these statistics, but I have tried to make it fun for the players and their parents.

And I guess all the work that I do in the offseason has payed off. Let’s hope there are plenty more games ahead not only this season, but for all the future springs and summers to come.

Ray Wilde covers Babe Ruth baseball for The Sentinel.

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