Senior Babe Ruth Regional was quite a tournament

I haven't covered much Senior Babe Ruth baseball in recent years, but I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of five days I spent at the recent Midwest Plains Regional in Charleston, Mo.

The tournament wasn't packed with big stars -- it's doubtful many, if any, of the players will go on to the Division I level -- but what it lacked in individual talent it more than made up for with hard-nosed, determined play.

And talk about close, exciting games. Twelve of the 15 contests in the eight-team, double-elimination event were decided by three runs or less.

The squads that finished first through third -- Minnesota, Jackson and Charleston -- squared off in five games that all could have gone either way.

Minnesota, the eventual champion, handed both defending champion Charleston and Jackson their two tournament losses.

Minnesota beat Charleston 1-0 and 2-1 in 11 innings. The group from Minnetonka defeated Jackson 8-7 and 6-3 in eight innings in the title game, after falling to the local side 8-7.

Jackson had a marvelous season and tournament, but I'm sure the team will be left thinking what might have been.

Jackson entered Tuesday's championship round of the regional as the only squad without a loss. One out from the crown and a Senior Babe Ruth World Series berth, Jackson was stunned when Minnesota scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win 8-7.

That forced Wednesday's winner-take-all matchup that was tied 2-2 through the regulation seven innings before Minnesota took control with a four-run top of the eighth.

So Minnesota moves on to Moses Lake, Wash., for the Babe Ruth World Series that will be played Saturday through Aug. 22.

The other teams can take solace in the fact they combined to put on quite a show for the fans who attended the well-run regional at Hillhouse Park.

---

Speaking of Hillhouse Park, I was impressed with how nice a facility it has become.

Sparked by efforts from Charleston High School and Charleston Senior Babe Ruth coach Michael Minner -- a Cape Girardeau native -- and many others, Hillhouse Park ranks among the finer baseball venues I've seen in recent years.

Not only is the field top-notch, but the press box built last year has to be better than most in the region. It even ranks up there with the press box at Capaha Field, although Capaha's is quite a bit bigger.

After Hillhouse Park served as the site for the Midwest Plains Regional the past two years, the event will return to Charleston and Hillhouse in 2011.

---

Congratulations to the Southeast Missouri State gymnastics team for once again achieving a major accomplishment.

It was announced last week that the Redhawks earned the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women National Academic Team Championship for the third straight year.

The Redhawks posted a 3.91 grade-point average for the 2008-2009 academic year, bolstered by 14 individuals with perfect 4.0 GPAs. All 17 Southeast gymnasts earned Scholastic All-American status as a result of 3.5 or better GPAs.

To have 14 of 17 squad members with a perfect GPA, and to have all 17 with GPAs of 3.5 or higher is some serious juggling of academics and athletics.

Southeast's GPA is the highest in program history as the Redhawks became only the second team to win the award three years in a row.

Coach Tom Farden and his student-athletes continue to excel in the gym and in the classroom. They deserve tons of credit.

---

The Southeast women's soccer team, which had a rare down season last year, plays its first of two exhibition games at 7 p.m. Friday when St. Louis University visits Houck Stadium.

Southeast hosts Missouri-St. Louis at 6 p.m. Sunday in its final exhibition before opening the regular season Aug. 21 at home against Indiana State.

The 2008 Redhawks failed to make the Ohio Valley Conference tournament for just the second time, the other being the program's inaugural season in 1999.

---

It's not like the Plaza Tire Capahas had a poor season, because 20-12 shouldn't be taken lightly.

But the 2009 campaign certainly wasn't up to the Capahas' normal standards as it was capped last week by a rare 0-2 performance at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan.

Knowing longtime Capahas manager Jess Bolen the way I do, don't be surprised if the team bounces back with a big 2010.

---

Kudos to Cape Girardeau's 12-year-old baseball team that stormed to the championship at last week's Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Midwest Plains Regional in Grand Island, Neb.

Cape, which won its third straight regional title, finished the tournament 4-0 and outscored opponents by a 32-8 margin.

Cape now advances to the Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth World Series starting Friday in Aberdeen, Md. Good luck to the squad out there.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.