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Jamestown wraps up No. 3 seed in American Division

By Matt Spielman & Christian Storms 8 min read

Host teams historically have not done well against the regional champions in the Babe Ruth World Series. In recent editions that have been hosted at Diethrick Park the local talent has fared much better, even reaching the quarterfinals in 2021.

On Wednesday night, the local group of talent had the chance to do something special, win a third game and return to the quarterfinals of the Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series.

Battling the Midwest Plains Region champions who could also grab the third spot in the American Division, Jamestown jumped out early scoring two runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back en route to an 8-0 victory over Southeast, Missouri, to reach Thursday's quarterfinals against an opponent to be determined.

Jamestown started the scoring with Dominik Csont reaching with a single and made his way to third with a stolen base and missed pickoff attempt. He couldn't get comfortable on third as Jaxon Watts smacked a double to bring him home for the 1-0 lead.

Then two batters later, Joe Surace knocked the second RBI double of the inning for Jamestown to score Watts from third and gave the hosts all they would need thanks to Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game Brayden Crawford on the mound.

Jamestown's starter surrendered just two hits to Missouri and struck out three batters before turning the ball over to Surace in the fifth inning. Crawford also added a double and scored in his own effort.

Drake Ritter was the Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game for Southeast after reaching base via walk and an error.

While Jamestown did not need a big offensive effort, the team kept the bats going for today's quarterfinal. Csont finished 2 for 3 with a double; Watts doubled; Surace went 2 for 3 with a double; Josh Cowan had an RBI sacrifice bunt on which he reached via an error; and AJ Stewart finished 2 for 4 with a pair of singles.

Jamestown will take on second place from the National Division which will be determined this morning after the 11:30 game.

NEW JERSEY 9, FLORIDA 4

For five innings Wednesday, Atlantic Shore, New Jersey, could not come up with the big hit when it needed it most.

That changed in the final two innings.

The Middle Atlantic Region champions scored seven runs on seven hits in the last two frames to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 9-4 victory over Tallahassee-Leon, Florida, in Game 18 of the Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series at Diethrick Park.

New Jersey improved to 4-0, clinching the No. 1 seed in the National Division and a bye into Friday's semifinals. Florida, the Southeast Region champion, fell to 2-1 with its final pool-play game coming Thursday at 11:30 a.m. against Bethel, Connecticut.

New Jersey stranded 10 runners over the first five innings Wednesday, including the bases loaded in the second, third and fifth innings.

In the sixth, leadoff batter Cole Leusner opened the inning with a single and Landon Gracia followed with an RBI double to make it 4-3. Nicholas Gelegonya then hit an RBI single to tie the game. After Gavin Colon singled, he was erased on Liam Higginbottom's fielder's choice for the second out. But Landon Garcia drew a walk to load the bases and Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game Reid Grasso gave New Jersey the lead with a three-run, bases-clearing double to right-center field.

New Jersey added a pair of runs on wild pitches in the seventh inning and Grayson Zacchi closed out the win on the mound, working around a one-out double.

New Jersey took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Higginbottom reached on a fielder's choice for the first out and Grasso reached on an error with two outs, plating Higginbottom with the first run of the game. Grasso later scored on a bases-loaded walk to Gracia.

Florida tied the game in the third inning. Robert McGee walked and Harvey Reichert reached on an error with one out before a flyout to left field. With two outs, Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game CJ Usina hit a bouncer up the first-base line and when the New Jersey pitcher threw to first base, a collision occurred, allowing both runners to score on the play.

Florida took a two-run lead in the fifth. Gabe Harper was hit by a pitch to open the inning and Evan House laid down a sacrifice bunt before McGee was hit by a pitch and Reichert singled to load the bases. Grayson Goeke greeted a New Jersey reliever with an RBI single and Whit Jacobs hit a two-out RBI infield single to make it 4-2.

Jack Wilson, Ben Campbell, Reichert, Goeke and Owen Moore combined for 10 strikeouts on the mound for Florida.

Higginbottom, Owen Perez and Zacchi combined for nine strikeouts for New Jersey.

CONNECTICUT 10, WASHINGTON 0

Staring down a Thursday morning matchup with Tallahassee-Leon, Florida, Bethel, Connecticut, needed a win Wednesday against Woodland, Washington, in Game 19 of the Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series.

The New England Region champions took care of business early.

The first six batters of the game reached base and scored, and Connecticut eventually scored three runs in the bottom of sixth inning to earn a 10-0 mercy-rule victory over the Pacific Northwest champions.

Connecticut improved to 2-1 and will play Florida at 11:30 a.m. Thursday for the No. 2 seed in the National Division. The loser will take the No. 3 seed.

Riley Rozon and Maxwell DeMoura singled to open the game before Bradley Carroll hit an RBI double. After a wild pitch, a hit batter and a stolen base put runners at second and third, a passed ball made it 3-0. Two runs later scored on Eli Beverly's RBI single and Connecticut's final run of the inning scored on an errant pickoff throw.

Carroll, who was named the Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game for Connecticut, added an RBI single in the second inning to make it 7-0.

JohnMarcos Adames threw the first four shutout innings for Connecticut, striking out three. He allowed back-to-back singles to open the fifth inning and was relieved by Jasper Kasack, who pitched shutout ball for the final two innings, striking out two.

Connecticut's final three runs in the sixth ended the game. Kasack and Adames singled to open the frame before a sacrifice bunt by Oliver Spear. Rozon followed with an RBI single, DeMoura drove in a run when he reached on an error and Carroll hit a walk-off single to left-center field to end the game.

Jason Kain was the Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game for Washington, which finished the tournament 0-4.

MASSACHUSETTS 11, TEXAS 7

Westfield, Massachusetts, led 4-0 entering a three-hour rain delay, relinquished that lead after the break, and then came alive again to beat Nederland, Texas, 11-7 in Game 17 of the Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series on Wednesday at Diethrick Park.

After falling behind 5-4, the New England Region runnerup strung together a three-run fifth inning to retake the lead. Lucas Maak walked to open the frame and went to second on JJ Rodriguez's single before both runners advanced on a passed ball. After Jackson Daley drew a walk to load the bases, Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game JJ Gonzalez hit a two-run double to give Massachusetts a 6-5 lead. Daley later scored on an error to make it 7-5.

Massachusetts tacked on four runs in the sixth inning, thanks in large part to the bottom of its order. No. 7 hitter Eric Dean singled with one out before Ryan Lemieux was hit by a pitch and pinch-hitter Ryder McGuire walked. Rodriguez followed with an RBI infield single, Daley reached on an RBI fielder's choice and Bobby Strange-Skribiski hit a two-run double to make it 11-5.

Dean, who relieved Gonzalez after four innings, made sure the lead held up, tossing three innings of two-run ball while striking out two.

Brady Panis hit an RBI single in the first inning for Massachusetts. In the third, Rodriguez singled and stole second. Daley then walked and a double-steal turned into a run on an errant throw. Gonzalez followed with an RBI double and later scored on a pickoff play.

A three-hour rain delay followed in the bottom of the third inning. When play resumed, Texas scored three runs in the bottom of the third and two more in the fourth to take a one-run lead.

In the third, Bronson Delage walked, stole second and scored on Connor Corcoran's RBI single. After a stolen base, Trevor Chaney singled. A double-steal then set up Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game Peter Shay's two-run double to right-center field.

In the fourth, Nolan Smith reached on an error and went to third on Ryder Robbins' sacrifice bunt. Wyatt Hill then walked and courtesy runner Austin Bijeaux stole second prior to Grayson Kenney's two-out, two-run single to give Texas the lead.

Gonzalez started and struck out six for Massachusetts, which improved to 1-2 in the American Division.

Hudson Weinacker, Corcoran and Chaney combined for three strikeouts on the mound for Texas, which fell to 0-4.

Starting at /week.