The Gloucester Youth Baseball 12U All Stars were the runners-up in the Virginia Babe Ruth 12U State Tournament held last week in Staunton. The second-place finish earned the boys a berth in the Southeast Regional Tournament that begins Wednesday in Holly Springs, N.C.

The Gloucester team went 4-2 in the state tournament, beginning with a 3-2 win over Rappahannock last Thursday. Cash Watkins and Jordan Roane led the way with a single and a double each. The Gloucester bats came to life Friday as the local boys defeated host Staunton, 16-4. Watkins contributed a two-run home run in the win.

Gloucester next lost to North East Augusta, 11-1, and dropped to the loser bracket. The team came back in the afternoon with a 12-5 win over Halifax. Blake Taylor had a solo home run and Roane contributed a pair of grand slams. The win put Gloucester in the championship Sunday.

The Gloucester boys faced North East Augusta again in the finals and needed to beat them twice. In game one, a standup double by Elijah Bowens was followed by a double from Ryan Frizzell to score Bowens and give Gloucester a 1-0 lead after five innings. In the sixth, Roane and A.J. Hall scored on a double from Matthew Hudgins to make it 3-1.

In the bottom of the sixth, NEA scored two runs and had the bases loaded with only two outs. Then an NEA player hit a hard line drive to first baseman Cody Shiflett, who caught the ball and tagged first for a double play that ended the threat. Gloucester won this game but ran out of steam and dropped the next game with NEA, 10-0, leaving them at runner-up.

To view this article in its entirety, subscribe here. Already an online subscriber? Login Here