Lee Trawick
Reporter2@riverbendnews.org
The girls of Hamilton County Babe Ruth Softball began a journey in February of 2022. As most recreation departments provide an opportunity to play baseball and softball, the girls of the Hamilton County 16 and under division saw the opportunity as a time to do what no other team from Hamilton County has ever done – making an appearance at the World Series. Upon the end of the regular season, an All-Star team was chosen and the goal became a bit closer. At this point in their journey, there were over 1,000 teams vying for a spot to be one of seven playing in the Babe Ruth World Series. After the Hamilton County 16u team dominated at the District Championships, they steam-rolled everyone at the State Championships. However, their work was not done, the Babe Ruth World Series was still waiting for them.
From Tuesday, July 19, through Thursday, July 28, the Hamilton County 16u girls traveled to Treasure Coast, Fla., along with seven other teams. On July 19, teams arrived and checked in. The following day, teams introduced themselves to the media and settled in for a day of light practice. On Thursday, July 21, teams celebrated opening ceremonies and warm up games.
On Friday, July 22, the Hamilton girls played against Chocowinity and struggled to settle in on the pitcher's mound and on defense. The girls collected only four hits; perhaps the story of the game was the errors committed by both team. Unfortunately, the errors committed by the Hamilton 16u proved to be more costly, as they fell to Chocowinity by a score of 17-5.
Up next, on Saturday, July 23, the girls faced off against Glen Allen. There, they bounced back with a strong showing, resulting in a 15-2 victory by racking up 19 hits to score 15 runs. Along the way, their defense settled in, allowing only two hits and committing zero errors.
Later the same day, the girls lined up against Jefferson Parks and Recreation Department (JPRD) West, where they found themselves in a battle that had them trailing by a score 3-1 going into the fourth inning. There, they managed to score seven runs in the fourth inning alone. Unfortunately, they were unable to hold on to their lead, as they fell in the fifth inning by a score of 9-8, leaving them with a 1-2 record. The team came back on Sunday, July 24, where they faced off against Lewiston. In only six hits, the girls of Hamilton managed to score 16 runs to Lewiston's goose egg, giving the girls a 2-2 record.
Then, on Monday, July 25, the Hamilton girls faced off against JPRD West, where they lost again after jumping out to 3-1 lead at the end of the first inning. They managed to only score one more run in the third inning, while JPRD West answered with five runs in the bottom of the third inning, and one more run in the fourth inning to give the Hamilton girls their third loss of the tournament for a final score of 7-4. Later the same day, the girls battled Puerto Rico, where they fell again by a score of 7-5.
Then, on Tuesday, July 26, they faced off again with Lewiston, where the Hamilton girls once again dominated by a score of 15-0. Then, on Wednesday, July 27, the girls of Hamilton lined up again against Puerto Rico where, this time, they came out victorious by a score of 14-7 to wrap up their time at the World Series with an overall fourth place finish.
