Members of the Southeast Region champions from Greenville, North Carolina, pictured, in front, from left, are: Cade Butcher, Tate Pinner, Quinn Price, Kendri Ramirez-Pena, Nolan Mills and assistant coach Gene Briggs. In back are: head coach Matthew Johnston, Suiter Howard, Carter Evans, Jaiden Floyd, Josh Roberson, Parker Williams, Ahmad Abulitifa and Caleb LaCroix. Submitted photo

A team from Tallahassee, Florida, stood in the way of Greenville, North Carolina, at the Southeast Region tournament the past two years.

When Tallahassee didn’t make it out of this year’s 15-year-old Florida state tournament, it left the door open for Greenville.

Now Greenville is on its way to Jamestown for the Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series at Diethrick Park.

Driving from the eastern part of North Carolina, Greenville will arrive in Jamestown this evening.

Head coach Matt Johnston coached nine of the 12 Greenville players on the freshman team at J.H. Rose High School this spring. He is assisted by Gene Briggs, a J.H. Rose alumn, who coached Greenville’s 15-year-olds to a World Series championship last summer at Virginia Credit Union Stadium — the home of the Class-A Fredericksburg Nationals — in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

“He has a lot of experience. He has coached a lot of teams in the past that have gone,” Johnston said of Briggs Wednesday evening. “He’s the only coach in Greenville who has won a Babe Ruth World Series. He loves the game, likes being around and likes being with the kids.”

Ten of the players attend J.H. Rose High School. Two others attend neighboring schools. The core of the team made it to regionals and lost to Tallahassee the past two summers as 13- and 14-year-olds.

“A majority of them have been playing together pretty much their entire lives,” Johnston said. “Greenville is such a close-knit community. Ten of them have been playing together for the past four or five months, since February.”

Greenville, which hosted the Southeast Regional, started 2-0 and outscored its opponents 25-2 before a 9-3 loss to Sarasota, the southern Florida champion.

“We really didn’t play well. When we threw strikes, they really hit them,” Johnston said. “We were out of character at the plate and didn’t take good swings. We popped the ball up or hit it on the ground pretty softly. I credit their pitcher for throwing strikes and keeping us off balance.”

As the host team, Greenville played the final game of pool play and already knew it was going to advance to bracket play so saved its top two pitchers. Against Julington Creek, the northern Florida champion, Greenville fell behind 7-0 and 9-4 before eventually scoring four runs in the seventh inning to tie the game. Greenville scored in the top of the 12th to win the game and finish pool play 3-1.

“It was a long, hard-fought game. Our starting pitcher struggled to find the zone and we didn’t play good defense,” Johnston said. “We didn’t play good defense, but our two relievers Cade Butcher and Carter Evans really helped us and kept us in the game.”

In the semifinals, No. 2 starter Parker Williams led Greenville to a 2-0 victory over Julington Creek. No. 1 starter Josh Roberson then led Greenville to a 10-0 victory over Arlington, Virginia, in the championship game.

“Our top guy threw very well in the championship game,” Johnston said.

Tate Pinner bats leadoff for Greenville and has set the table for his teammates for much of their postseason run.

“It felt like every other at-bat he was on base,” Johnston said. “We had another guy who struggled at states and really started heating up. We put the ball in play quite a bit. We don’t hit a lot of home runs, but we put it in the gaps and we’re a really fast team as well.”

Playing in the National Division, Greenville will open with Moorhead, Minnesota, at 4:30 p.m. Saturday before taking on Portland, Oregon, at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. After an off day Monday, Greenville will finish pool play with Norwalk, Connecticut, at 11 a.m. Tuesday and Beekman, New York, at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

“I like playing two and being off in the middle,” Johnston said of his team’s schedule. “I feel like it can really set up our pitching if we need to throw one of our best guys in Game 4.”

Name: Carter Evans

Jersey No.: 1

Bats/throws: R/R

Positions: Second base/outfield/pitcher

Favorite subject: History

Favorite hobby: Fishing

Name: Nolan Mills

Jersey No.: 2

Bats/throws: R/R

Positions: Catcher/second base/third base/outfield

Favorite professional team: Toronto Blue Jays

Favorite professional athlete: Ozzie Albies

Name: Josh Roberson

Jersey No.: 3

Bats/throws: R/R

Positions: Infield/pitcher

Favorite professional team: Los Angeles Dodgers

Favorite professional athlete: Mookie Betts

Name: Parker Williams

Jersey No.: 4

Bats/throws: R/R

Positions: Pitcher/second base

Favorite professional team: Los Angeles Dodgers

Favorite professional athlete: Jacob deGrom

Name: Cade Butcher

Jersey No.: 5

Bats/throws: R/R

Positions: Catcher/pitcher/second base/third base

Favorite professional team: Kansas City Royals

Favorite professional athlete: Joe Burrow

Name: Quinn Price

Jersey No.: 6

Bats/throws: R/L

Positions: Left field

Favorite professional team: Atlanta Braves

Favorite professional athlete: Aaron Judge

Name: Caleb LaCroix

Jersey No.: 7

Bats/throws: L/L

Positions: Outfield/pitcher/first base

Favorite professional team: Chicago Cubs

Favorite professional athlete: Ronald Acuna Jr.

Name: Tate Pinner

Jersey No.: 8

Bats/throws: R/R

Positions: Center field

Favorite professional team: Carolina Panthers

Favorite professional athlete: Ronald Acuna Jr.

Name: Ahmad Abulatifa

Jersey No.: 10

Bats/throws: R/R

Positions: Catcher/third base

Favorite professional team: Milwaukee Brewers

Favorite professional athlete: William Contreras

Name: Suiter Howard

Jersey No.: 11

Bats/throws: R/R

Positions: First base

Favorite professional team: Baltimore Orioles

Favorite professional athlete: Zac Gallen

Name: Kendri Ramirez-Pena

Jersey No.: 12

Bats/throws: R/R

Positions: Shortstop

Favorite professional team: San Diego Padres

Favorite professional athlete: Francisco Lindor

Name: Jaiden Floyd

Jersey No.: 13

Bats/throws: L/L

Positions: Right field

Hidden talent: Drawing

Favorite professional athlete: Ronald Acuna Jr.