Locals set for ‘Ruth’ 14-Series

By Jon Moffett

The Youngstown Babe Ruth team is in the World Series in Quincey, Mass.

YOUNGSTOWN — The may not have done it the easy way, but the 14-year-old Youngstown Babe Ruth team has advanced to the World Series.

Coach Terry Landis has given his team a special nickname, the Comeback Kids.

“We did it the hard way,” Landis said of his team’s journey to the tournament.

Landis’ team started off the Ohio Valley regional tournament with a win, but lost their second game to Illinois.

Six consecutive wins in doubleheaders, including a tournament-clinching victory over the same Illinois team that had defeated them earlier in the tournament, gave Youngstown the regional crown.

“When they have their backs against the wall, they come back,” Landis said. “We’ve been tested.”

As the champions of the regional tournament, Youngstown moves on to the Babe Ruth Baseball 14-year-old World Series. The series will be played in Quincy, Mass., and will begin on Friday with the Banquet of Champions.

Games will begin on Saturday and last until a winner is crowned on Wednesday.

The series is comprised of 10 teams broken into two divisions, the American Division and National Division.

Youngstown is in the National Division. Each team will play the four others in its division in a round-robin tournament. The winners of each division will play for the series title.

“We’ve got a shot,” Landis said of winning the tournament. “They’re hard workers. They came out and at first they didn’t know me because I’m a pusher; I make them do things they think they can’t do. They’re all stepping up in this level of baseball.”

Though teams can bring with them as many as 15 players, Youngstown will have only 13 players for the tournament. Landis said that some boys had prior commitments, such as football, and wouldn’t be able to join their teammates.

Landis said he hopes his team will rally together much like they have all season. He added that the team’s defense has been superb all year, and the pitching and hitting only add to the cause.

“We’re good,” Landis said. “I wish we had some more depth, but we’re good.”

The team will leave today at 3:30 p.m. via limousine from the Eastwood Mall and head to the airport in Cleveland for the trip.

Landis said the limousine was purely for function, and not for fashion.

“When we come back we’ll be landing in Pittsburgh, so we needed transportation,” Landis said.

This is the fourth Youngstown team the manager has taken to the World Series since he began coaching baseball in 1978, Landis said.

The former supervisor at the Youngstown Water Department said he loves kids and the game of baseball.

Landis retired from his position on March 31, and can’t wait for the tournament to begin because he isn’t the type of person who can just “sit around.”

Landis, who played Little League baseball when he was younger, said he may take up coaching full-time in the near future to keep him busy.

“I love the game of baseball; I’ve loved it since I was a kid,” Landis said. “I love working with kids ... I like to see them go ahead and go further.”

Landis said that he has seen his former players grow and go on to find success at every level in baseball, including the major leagues.

“You look back and say ‘hey, I might have had a little part of this success,’ and it makes you feel good,” Landis said.

Youngstown will open the tournament on Saturday at noon against the New England regional champions.

For more information on the tournament, visit www.baberuthleague.org.

jmoffett@vindy.com