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Glacier 13U Win Regional Title, Advance to World Series

Local baseball team advances to Babe Ruth World Series in Virginia

By Dillon Tabish

For only the second time in state history, Montana has a Babe Ruth regional baseball champion. And for the second time, it’s a Glacier team.

The local 13U team captured the Pacific Northwest Regional Championship in Helena last weekend and advanced to the World Series in Glen Allen, Virginia. The Glacier squad, made up of players 13 and younger from Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Bigfork, rallied from an opening-round loss to sweep the remaining five games and win the title.

Glacier lost 13-8 to Meridian (Idaho) on Aug. 1 before defeating Sheridan (Wyoming) 4-3, West Linn (Oregon) 11-1, Lewiston (Idaho) 6-1, Longview (Washington) 8-2 and Lewiston 5-4 in the championship game. The squad became only the second local Babe Ruth team to win the regional trophy, according to Glacier president and former player Ray Queen.

Queen played on the 1983 Glacier 15U team that achieved the same feat and played in the World Series in Maryland.

“These kids are unbelievably talented,” Queen said.

Kalispell had an all-star team in Helena and the boys went 2-2, defeating Calgary (Alberta) 10-6 and South Coast (Oregon) 8-7 and falling to Longview (Washington) 5-1 and Sedro-Woolley (Washington) 7-4.