Babe Ruth district tourneys open summer all-star season

By David Williams
Published in Sports on June 25, 2004 1:56 PM

• Print
• Email

The summer journey that is youth all-star baseball and softball begins Monday as Babe Ruth begins it's District 4 tournaments in eight different age groups.

The Babe Ruth tournaments for the 8-and-under, 10-year-olds, 11-year olds and 12-year olds get under way at two different sites. The 8-and-unders, known as Rookie League, will begin play at Lee Woodard Elementary School in Black Creek, while the other three dvisions will play at the Maury Little League Park and at Greene Central High School.

All-star squads of Babe Ruth players from Wayne, Wilson, Johnston and other neighboring counties will be taking part, with the winning team advancing to the Babe Ruth state tournaments at sites all over the state.

Also on Monday, four divisions of Babe Ruth all-star softball will be getting underway. The 16 and unders and some 14-and under games will be played at Lee Woodard, while the other three divisions -- 10 and under, 12 and under and 14-and under -- will compete in Saratoga.

The Rookie League bracket has Wilson County, two Johnston County teams and Edgecombe County battling it out.

In the 10-year old division, Wayne County has one team and will duel with two Wilson County teams and teams from Johnston and Greene Counties. This tournament will begin in Maury and conclude at Greene Central High School.

The 11-year old bracket is a best-of-three format between Wayne County and Wilson County in Maury, with one game each night.

Wayne County, Johnston County, Wilson County and Greene County will meet in the 12-year-old district tournament at Greene Central.

The state tournaments for the winners will be held in July. The Rookie League state tournament will be in Laurinburg, the 10-and-unders in Washington and the 11-and-unders in Wilmington, all starting July 9. The 12-and-unders will be in Wilmington starting July 16.

For softball, two teams each from Wilson, Johnston and Edgecombe Counties will duel for the title at Saratoga. in the 12-and-under bracket, teams from Rocky Mount, Wilson County, Bailey, Spring Hope and Johnston County will take part. The 14-and-under bracket features teams from Edgecombe, Wilson, Nash and Johnston Counties, and Rocky Mount. The 16-and-under bracket has teams from Wilson County, Spring Hope, Rocky Mount and Edgecombe County.