NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Two local teams are confident heading into the summer-ending 2010 Senior Babe Ruth 16-year-old Southwest Regional Invitational after successful runs at the state tournament.
North Arkansas Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament champions Northwest Arkansas All-Stars and runner-up Bentonville are among the 10 teams at the four-day tournament in Fort Smith’s Hunts Park and Goldtrap-Gardner Park.
The teams have been divided into two pools. Each team will play the other four in its pool, and the winners of each pool will meet Monday in the championship game.
Bentonville, Fort Smith National, Union County, Gentry and Denham Springs, La., make up Pool A.
The All-Stars are in Pool B with Fort Smith American, Pine Bluff, Gentry and Madisonville, La.
Friday’s opening round of games will be followed by a home run derby, bunting contest and fungo contest.
The All-Stars beat Bentonville twice during an undefeated run to the North state title at Veterans Park in Rogers. Coach Chris Bacon said team chemistry — along with strong pitching — was key to the championship.
“They’ve come together well as a team and as friends, more importantly,” Bacon said. “We see them texting each other back and forth. That’s something we asked them to do. It’s working.”
The All-Stars, made up of players from the Northwest Arkansas Senior Babe Ruth League, are strong in pitching, led by state tournament Most Valuable Player Mitchell Kahl.
“We’re not afraid to put any of the kids up on the mound. They know that and they know we know that,” Bacon said. “Kahl is just a go-to guy. He understands baseball.”
The All-Stars outscored opponents 36-10 in four games at Veterans Park and got solid hitting throughout its lineup.
Bentonville, an all-star group picked from the city’s six-team Babe Ruth League, also took advantage of strong pitching and timely hits at the tournament.
“We had a few weeks of practice (before the state tournament) and we kept it intense and fun for the boys,” coach Scott Halliburton said. “As a result, I think we played pretty loose and hit pretty well. We had a good effort in the state tournament.”
Stefan Smith, Craig Salvatore and Brice Tomlin were each productive on the mound, and Bentonville made a habit of getting big two-out hits to extend innings.
Andrew Halliburton and Justy Lofton led the way in the heart of the batting order, but the team got crucial hits from all of the starters.
“Hitting has been one of our strong suits,” Scott Halliburton said. “If we can stay in the game, we feel like we have a good chance with the pitching we have. Offensively, it hasn’t been just one person.”
At A Glance
2010 Senior Babe Ruth 16-Year-Old Southwest Regional Invitational
At Hunts Park and Goldtrap-Gardner Park, Fort Smith
Friday (Pool play)
Gravette vs. Bentonville, 1 p.m. (HP)
Gentry vs. NWA All-Stars, 1 p.m. (GG)
Fort Smith National vs. Union County, 3:30 p.m. (HP)
Fort Smith American vs. Pine Bluff, 3:30 p.m. (GG)
Saturday (Pool play)
Denham Springs, La., vs. Gravette, 10:30 a.m. (HP)
Madisonville, La., vs. Gentry, 10:30 a.m. (GG)
Bentonville vs. Union County, 1 p.m. (HP)
NWA All-Stars vs. Pine Bluff, 1 p.m. (GG)
Fort Smith American vs. Madisonville, 5 p.m. (HP)
Fort Smith National vs. Denham Springs, 5 p.m. (GG)
Gentry vs. Pine Bluff, 7:30 p.m. (HP)
Gravette vs. Union County, 7:30 p.m. (GG)
Sunday (Pool play)
NWA All-Stars vs. Madisonville, 10:30 a.m. (HP)
Bentonville vs. Denham Springs, 10:30 a.m. (GG)
Fort Smith American vs. Gentry, 1 p.m. (HP)
Fort Smith National vs. Gravette, 1 p.m. (GG)
Madisonville vs. Pine Bluff, 3:30 p.m. (HP)
Denham Springs vs. Union County, 3:30 p.m. (GG)
Fort Smith American vs. NWA All-Stars, 6 p.m. (HP)
Fort Smith National vs. Bentonville, 6 p.m. (GG)
Monday
Championship: Pool A Winner vs. Pool B Winner, Noon (HP)
HP-Hunts Park; GG-Goldtrap-Gardner.