Ruth stars get bye to semifinals

The Youngstown baseball all-stars are two wins from a world series championship.

APPLETON, Wis. — “Practice, practice, practice.”

That was manager Terry Landis’ comment to summarize the bulk of off-day activities for his all-stars playing in the 14-year-old Babe Ruth World Series.

After a 21‚Ñ2-hour workout Wednesday, Landis’ team watched a night game between Eau Claire and Arizona, a likely opponent on Friday night.

Youngstown finished top-seeded in the American Division with a 3-1 record in pool play. Landis’ team won three games after a first-day loss to Eau Claire.

“That was the worst game we played since we’ve been together,” Landis said of the opener. “But I guess you’ll get those.”

Pool play concluded Wednesday and the playoffs started today. Youngstown has a bye and would need to win Friday’s game at 8 p.m. and another game Saturday afternoon to claim the championship.

The six remaining teams are: Youngstown, Arizona and North Syracuse in the American Div. and Arkansas, Appleton and Rhode Island in the National Div.

Recreation isn’t utmost on Landis’ mind as he attempts to prepare the teenaged boys for the final phase of their trip.

“We had four straight games, then a halfway decent practice to keep them focused,” the manager said of Wednesday’s agenda.

The batting cages awaited Youngstown players prior to Wednesday night’s game and Landis scheduled a light practice today to keep the team sharp.

“Then we’ll give them hell on Friday,” Landis said of his outlook for the remainder of the tournament.

Despite the workouts, Youngstown’s players also have time for go-karts and arcade games.

“We don’t care if they have a little fun, but we don’t want them to do too much, either,” Landis said. “Basically, we’ve got to keep them focused.”

The manager likes Youngstown’s chances.

“We’ve got a good shot because my pitchers are rested.”

In the finals, Landis anticipates meeting Arizona, a team Youngstown already beat, 6-4.

“They’re stacked,” Landis said of the Hamilton, Ariz., team’s entire roster. “They’ve been together three or four years and they recruit. This is big deal in Arizona.”

Landis said he threw knuckleballer Jake Stauffer against Arizona in Tuesday’s victory.

“It was the first time they saw him and he had them all off balance,” Landis said of Stauffer, a freshman-to-be at Springfield Local.

bassetti@vindy.com