Gallery by Tina Laney
Just the mere mention of the roster for the Beckley Babe Ruth 16U All-Star baseball team brings a wry smile to head coach Donald Barnett.
“This is the kind of team, I believe, that every high school coach in the area would love to have,” Barnett said. “We can hit up and down the line-up no matter what order we put these kids in. We have a stable full of pitchers and they made some outstanding plays on defense during the state tournament.”
Thursday afternoon, the vaunted Beckley roster will be put to the test when it opens play in the 13-16U Ohio Valley Regional in Eau Claire, WI.
Beckley will meet up with Crown Point, IN at 11:30 a.m. in the opener before playing one of the host teams, Eau Claire Black, Friday at 12:30 p.m.
Following two days of pool play, teams will be seeded for the single elimination bracket play which will take place Saturday and Sunday.
The tournament winner will advance to the Babe Ruth World Series being played in Branson, MO, August 8-18.
“This team is not going to go in nervous. They are coming in with enough experience to know what is expected and knows what is necessary to win,” Barnett said. “Some of these guys have played several games in high school and several tournament games in high school.”
Five players on the team headed to The Badger State played on the Babe Ruth 14U team that advanced to the Babe Ruth World Series last year.
Andrew Gallaher, Austin Long, Jacob Claypool, Brady Williams and Tyler Wilhite were teammates on that historic run.
Williams, Gallaher and Wilhite were also part of three no-hitters recorded by Beckley last year and will once again be counted upon this year.
“I think it is a really solid group and we have a lot of potential. We have a lot of good arms and that is probably our strong point,” Wilhite said. “We can hit the ball as well, so all around this is a good team.”
Williams and Gallaher pitched for Beckley back earlier this year in their first high school season and both received all-state accolades. Gallaher was a solid 8-0 on the year with an ERA just over two. Williams led the Flying Eagles in appearances and had a 3.30 ERA.
Although he is the youngest of the successful trio, Wilhite has several people anticipating his move to the high school level this coming school year.
“I really started taking the game serious a couple of years ago and I feel like I have really grown a lot as a person and a player,” Wilhite said. “I started pitching in 11U and I developed a curve-ball before a lot of kids which really helped me. Then I started mixing my timing really well.”
Shady Spring ace Sam Barnett is coming off a strong sophomore year for the Tigers recording 51 strikeouts in 48 innings.
“We have six or maybe seven kids that have already thrown in high school ball and thrown well,” coach Barnett said. “We won’t be hurting for talent when we have to make a pitching change.”
The Beckley squad won’t be hurting at the plate either with solid hitters all through the line-up.
In the two state tournament wins over Huntington, Beckley combined for 22 hits with nine going for extra bases.
Independence lead-off man Levi Barnett rapped two doubles and drove in three runs against Huntington, while Parker Williams hit a home run and also had three RBI. Gallaher and Wilhite had three hits apiece.
“The biggest part of them play travel ball as well. Hopefully that experience will carry over for us,” Barnett said. “I like our chances and I like our chances really against anybody.”
Naturally, scouting reports for the opponents will be mostly non-existent, but Barnett doesn’t really see that as a problem.
“I believe the key for us is to play our game and let other teams adjust to us. The arms we have on the mound should keep us in most games,” Barnett said. “With the way we hit the ball and field the ball, we just have to find a way to be consistent throughout the tournament. That is the goal moving forward.”
The remaining teams in the tournament include Eau Claire Blue (Wisconsin), Plainfield (Indiana), Sheridan Park (Illinois), Western Conference (Illinois), Munster (Indiana) and Licking Valley (Ohio).
