BENT-ON SOFTBALL: THREE BENTON GIRLS TEAMS WIN REGIONALS

The Heartland Nationals 12 and Under softball team from Benton will compete in the Babe Ruth World Series this weekend in Jamestown, N.Y. Team members: front left, Jaime Jackson, Michelle Collins, Kelli Essner, Whitney Beggs, Sarah Scherer and Kristain Burger; back, Coach Ashley Beggs, Stephanie Hency, Deborah Bell, Jessica Burnett, Tori St. Cin, Coach Cameron Beggs, Kristin Harper, Alana Weissmueller, Mindy Robert, Miranda Schlosser and Coach Tony Young.

The Heartland Heat Under 14 fast-pitch softball team won its regional tournament in Colorado recently. Team members: front left, Rebecca Cook, Mallory Kiefer, Stacy Schwartz, Ashley Kern, Dana Essner, Monica Senciboy and Allison Johnson; second row, Ramona Blankenship, Christy Kluesner, Rebecca Below, Ashley Reinagel, Rachel Wright and Amanda O'Brien; back row, sponsor Bruce Blankenship, sponsor Ron Reinagel, Coach Randy Kern, Manager Doug Johnson, Coach Mike Senciboy and sponsor Frank Essner.

The Heartland Nationals 16 and Under softball team from Benton will compete in the Babe Ruth World Series this weekend in Black Mountain, N.C. Team members: front left, Alana Burford, Mika Williamson, Morgan Kiefer, Cortney Loucks, Tracie Kluesner, Jodi Pfefferkorn and bat girl Madelyn Kiefer; back left, Megan Beggs, Coach Donnie Kiefer, Nicole Kern, Bridgette Riley, Kari Lape, Manager Mike Riley, Marissa Essner, Lauren Everett, Coach Bev Riley and Ashley Pebble.

BENTON -- A small town 15 miles south of Cape Girardeau seems Bent-on softball.

Three Benton girls fast-pitch softball teams recently rolled through the Babe Ruth regional tournament in Colorado, pounding every team in their path.

Now, two of those teams, the 12-and-under squad and the 16-U club, will be vying for a Babe Ruth World Series championship. (There is not yet a Babe Ruth World Series Tournament for 14-U teams).

Both Benton (some of the players come from Chaffee, Oran and New Hamburg) teams will leave Thursday for the tournament.

The 16-U team will be playing its first games in North Carolina on Saturday. The 12-U team will start in Jamestown, N.Y.

Though the Babe Ruth competition is not as stiff as the Amateur Softball Association (neither of the three teams won the state ASA tournament), Babe Ruth gives smaller towns a chance.

In Babe Ruth, a limit is set on the size of an area a team can draw from, said Ashley Beggs, coach of Benton's 12-U team.

"It's for little communities like us," she said.

But it's not like Benton's squads couldn't hold their own in the ASA. Each team performed well in the state tournament, especially considering none of them had much practice time before the tournaments.

All three teams are a conglomerate of the best players in the girls softball league in Benton.

So the girls don't have a chance to play together until the league's season is over. That gave them a huge disadvantage going into the ASA.

"We picked our team on a Sunday and the tournament started on a Friday," said Mike Riley, coach of the 16-U team. "We went in that state tournament without any practices and won sixth place. I feel good about finishing sixth."

After completing the ASA tournament, all three teams were virtually unstoppable.

The 16-U team heads into the Babe Ruth World Series with a 14-3 record, the 14-U team finished up at 20-5 and the 12-U club will head northeast with a 10-3 record.

Coaches of all three teams agreed their girls' success is due to the camaraderie.

"We play within our own area and don't pick teams from out of town and that helps our high school programs," Riley said. "The success that we have, it's because these girls have played together for so long. There's no dissension on the team. They've all grown up together and the success has carried over from one age group to the next."

Said Beggs: "These girls play together a lot. They're friends, not just teammates and they get along very well. They work really hard and we spend a lot of time practicing."

The summer league and the assemblage of the All-Star teams certainly contributes to the success that Kelly High School has enjoyed over the past few years.

"The way I feel, is that we started at 10-and-under and (talent) gets developed at a real young age," said Doug Johnson, coach of the Heartland Heat, the 14-U team. "The pitching, especially, is developed early. There is just a lot of talent in this area and you don't realize it until you get out of the area and play some other teams."

The Babe Ruth World Series will begin in a round-robin format which will lead to a double-elimination tournament.

Babe Ruth has hosted a World Series for boys baseball teams since 1992, but this is the first year for girls softball teams.