Hi-Line 13-Year-Olds Win State Babe Ruth Championship

The Hi-Line Babe Ruth 13-year-old All Stars tore through the competition at the State 13 YO Babe Ruth Championship in Havre.

The Hi-Line squad, which consists of nine Glasgow players, cruised through pool play in the tournament, beating Glacier 14-2, Northern 14-0 and Bozeman 6-0 on way to being the clear No. 1 seed entering single-elimination bracket play.

After a first-round bye, the Hi-Line team shook off any rust it may have had and discarded of No. 4-seed Helena 5-3 to move onto the championship game. No. 2-seed Kalispell also found its way rather easily through the bracket with a 4-0 record, overpowering Havre on its way to a face off with Hi-Line.

The two high powered offenses flashed the leather in the championship game, and kept the game tight with both teams tied at 5-5 after four innings. In the fifth, Hi-Line let the bats fly, scoring three runs to take a decisive lead. With solid pitching and good defense in the last few innings, the Hi-Line team shut down Kalispell and took the game 8-5.

The win moves Hi-Line onto the Pacific Northwest Divisional Tournament, where it will play a round robin in the American Division, playing against host team Idaho Falls, as well as the champions from Wyoming, Southern Oregon and Northern Oregon. The top two teams from the division will move to the semifinals against the top two teams from the National Division, featuring the champions from Idaho, Northern Washington, Southern Washington, Alberta and British Columbia. The winner of the regional tournament moves on to the Babe Ruth World Series, which is held in Levelland, Texas on August 19-26.