The Gloucester 12U Babe Ruth all-star team ended its playoff run as the third-ranked team in the Southeast Region this past weekend, falling to the West Raleigh all stars in a tightly contested 3-1 affair.

Gloucester was coming in to the tournament as the Virginia state champion and each of the four teams in the tournament would play all their possible opponents once in a “Pool Play” bracket to determine seeding. From there, there would be a single-elimination bracket to determine which team advanced to the Cal Ripken World Series in California.

Initially coaches expected more than a dozen teams to participate; however, travel expenses proved too great for many teams from other states and territories.

The Southeast Region includes Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Curacao, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. West Raleigh and Southwest Athletics, both of North Carolina, ended up vying for the title against Gloucester and host te...