Mineral Area 14 year olds win state tourney
BOONVILLE, MO. — Over the weekend, the Mineral Area 14 year old All-Star team swept all three games of the Missouri State Babe Ruth Tournament to earn a spot in the Midwest Regional Tournament to be held at Garden City, Kansas on August 2-8.
In their first game on Friday, the All-Stars defeated the Mississippi Valley team by a score of 11-1. Jacob Meinershagen and Ethan Nixon combined to give up only two hits in a total of six innings pitched. Hitting was led by Zach Price 3-4 with a triple, Caleb Crews hit a double and a triple to go 2-3, and Ethan Nixon was 2-4 with a double. Blake Barlow also hit a triple for the All-Stars.
On Saturday, Mineral Area played the host team, Boonvillle. Blake Barlow and Jacob Meinershagen pitched one inning each, and Parker Forshee had an outstanding performance of five innings for the win. Hitting was led by Ethan Nixon who went 3-4 including a solo home run in the first. Parker Forshee hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the second inning, and Blake Barlow was also 3-4 in the contest.
The All-Stars trailed by two going into the bottom of the sixth. With runners at first and second, Austin Heflin moved them to second and third on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs Ethan Nixon drove in both runs to tie the game 7-7. From second base, Nixon was able to steal third, and on a bad throw to third, he was able to score the go ahead run. Parker Forshee was able to strike out the first batter in the top of the seventh inning, get a fly ball to right field by the second batter, and strike out the third batter he faced to give Mineral Area the 8-7 win.
In their final game, the All-Stars faced the Mississippi Valley team for a second time. It was a combined pitching effort by Ethan Nixon 4 innings, and Jacob Meinershagen 2 innings. Only giving up four runs in the game, the All-Stars were able to score 14 to end the championship game by the 10-run rule. Hitting was led by Austin Heflin who was 3-4, Justin Lawson who was 2-4, and Caleb Crews who went 2-2.
