Babe Ruth All-Stars swept at state

Posted 7/23/13

The first game was the closest. Powell lost to Torrington 5-4 in nine innings Wednesday.

Carson Asher gave up only four hits and one walk in seven innings. He struck out five.

But Powell’s offense couldn’t back him up with enough runs. The …

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Babe Ruth All-Stars swept at state

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Coach predicts bright future

Powell’s Babe Ruth All-Stars made it to state after all, but weren’t able to take advantage of their opportunity.

Powell made it to state as the runner-up in the Northwest District Tournament when the Southwest Region only advanced one team. The local team went 0-3 at state, and failed to reach bracket play.

The first game was the closest. Powell lost to Torrington 5-4 in nine innings Wednesday.

Carson Asher gave up only four hits and one walk in seven innings. He struck out five.

But Powell’s offense couldn’t back him up with enough runs. The All-Stars showed the effects of their late-game loss Thursday against Casper.

Head coach Patrick Croft said his team was slow on its feet and just couldn’t get up for the game.

“That Torrington game took a lot of wind out of our sails, no question about it,” Croft said.

Casper took advantage of Powell’s sluggishness by scoring seven runs off starter Caden Moore in the first inning. Powell went on to lose 16-5

“They just kept piling on,” Croft said.

Moore issued two walks and hit a batter to load the bases, which led to more Casper runs.

“It wasn’t that they were overpowering, we just gave up too many free passes that entire game,” Croft said. “We just struggled finding the strike zone.”

The loss eliminated Powell from contention at state, but the team still had one more game to play, and a reason to win it.

Friday’s matchup against Cody gave the Babe Ruth All-Stars an opportunity to send their rivals home. Powell kept it close until six Cody runs in the top of the seventh ended any hope of a redeeming victory by an 8-1 count.

Powell’s pitching and defense fared well against the state competition, Croft said.

“The kids, defensively, played their hearts out,” he said.

But ultimately, Powell’s offense wasn’t up to the task.

“In the Douglas state tournament you have to be able to hit the baseball,” Croft said. “Our defense played well, our pitching was great, we just couldn’t help our pitchers out and get hits, score runs.”

Asher was back on the mound again for Powell. Just two days after throwing seven innings against Torrington, he threw six against Cody.

“He’s a great pitcher,” Croft said. “The thing that Carson has is the fact that he can hit spots. The kid’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

Teagan Cordes was Powell’s most effective and consistent hitter. He had a pair of hits in each of Powell’s three games and didn’t strike out once.

Croft said the winless showing at state doesn’t hurt the team’s potential going forward.

“They are a good baseball team,” Croft said. “If those kids stay together, they’re going to have a great team.”

Green River beat Cody in the finals to become the 2013 Wyoming Babe Ruth state champion.

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