Menu
Squirrels set to host and play in Regional
CHARLESTON -- After winning their second-straight Missouri Senior Babe Ruth State Championship on Monday, the Charleston Fighting Squirrels are now ready to try and earn a trip to the Sr. Babe Ruth World Series, which is a something that eluded them just last year in Williston, N.D.
In last year's Midwest Plains Regional, the Squirrels began in disappointing fashion by losing in the first round which put them in an unexpected position.
"We were kind of over our heads because we didn't know what to expect when we got there," Squirrels head coach Michael Minner said. "After we had got beat, we were kind of shell-shocked. We lost 3-2 and we felt like it was a game that we should have won."
But, five games and five wins later elevated Minner and his Squirrels out of the loser's bracket and into the championship game. Unfortunately, Charleston was defeated by Heartland East in the Regional final, which ended their World Series run.
This year, the Squirrels have the advantage of playing on their home field at Hillhouse Park, but, some of the experience that was gained at last year's Regional is now gone and a few new faces have Minner hoping this younger team will deliver just when it needs to.
"The thing this year is that we're kind of young and we don't have the experience down the line that we had last year," said Minner. "Last year, the guys we had out there knew what was expected. This year these kids have learned a lot in the games we had but still, its our first summer together and we're just hoping to gel at the right time."
Something that the Squirrels could count on for most of the year was their pitching. East Prairie's Tyler Whybark was a big part of that.
He pitched several big games for the Squirrels this season and will be a key factor during the Regional as he has stepped up as one of the Squirrels many weapons.
"Our pitching is pretty solid this year," Minner said. "That's why we're winning ball games because our pitching is keeping us in the games. Tyler Whybark is going to have to throw a game in the regional for us to win."
Newly acquired Steven Dooley, who had a whopping 16 strikeouts in the State Championship game on Monday, has also been a nice boost to the Squirrels pitching staff as he was for the Oran Eagles in the spring. Other pitcher's that Charleston will be counting on will be Jamie Barber, Mark Freed, James Miller and Tyler McCann who is a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen.
Offensively the Squirrels have shown at times that they can rattle the bats and put up a lot of runs. But, other times Minner said it just all "depends on which group shows up".
"At times, we swing the bats well," said Minner. "We have the potential to swing it and it depends on which group shows up. We've shown some signs of being a dominant team offensively and we've shown some signs where we're going to struggle and we're going to have to play small ball."
Since the Squirrels are the host of the Regional tournament this year, they have had an automatic bid all season long. And that has been what Charleston has been preparing for all year. Minner has said for most of the season that he is "trying to find his nine" that would represent him in the Regional. He thinks he's found them and then some.
"I think I've found my nine," said Minner. "We're probably at ten and we're still trying to find out what we're going to do defensively and it's going to have a lot to do with what's on the mound. But, we feel like these kids have competed all summer and have earned the right to be out there on opening day of the Regional."
Seven states will be represented in the tournament. Missouri will have two teams, the Squirrels and the MABA Pirates, who were defeated by Charleston in the state finals. The Pirates have a spot in the tournament because of the automatic bid that the Squirrels received.
Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado, North Dakota and Nebraska will all be in Charleston on Friday to get the Midwest Plains Regional underway.
Midwest Plains Regional
FRIDAY
Kansas vs. Colorado 10:30 a.m.
Iowa vs. Missouri 1:30 p.m.
North Dakota vs. Minnesota 4:30 p.m.
Nebraska vs. Charleston 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
Winner's Bracket
Kan./Col. vs. Iowa/Mo., 10 a.m.
N.D./Minn. vs. Neb./Charleston, 1 p.m.
Loser's Bracket
Kan./Col. vs. Iowa/Mo., 4 p.m.
N.D./Minn. vs. Neb./Charleston, 7 p.m.
SUNDAY
Loser's Bracket
Game #9, 10 a.m.
Game #10, 1 p.m.
Game #12, 7 p.m.
Winner's Bracket
Game #11, 4 p.m.
MONDAY
Loser's Bracket
Game #13, 11 a.m.
Championship
Game #14, 2 p.m.
TUESDAY (If Needed)
Game #15, 1 p.m.