By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Del Rio’s Babe Ruth Baseball League is going to be represented at a World Series this year.
Del Rio’s 13-15-year-old all-star team will be headed to Eagle Pass next week to take part in the Babe Ruth Baseball World Series there that begins Aug. 11. Del Rio will be the East Texas State representative and will be joined by nine other teams from across the country.
Nederland won the East Texas State championship but neither they nor the runner-up team, Wharton, would be able to travel to Eagle Pass to compete in the World Series. Del Rio accepted the bid and will compete as the East Texas State representatives.
Representing the Del Rio team will be George Avalos, J.P. Rios, Brandon Ker, Mark Peña, Jose Palafox, Trevor Hill, Eliseo Ortiz, Austin Soto, Alex Gonzalez, Leonel Olivares, Zane Hughes, Julius Flores and Adan Villarreal. Ryan Reyes is the team’s manager and coaches are Sandoval, Guillermo Sanchez and David Gomez.
Aside from Eagle Pass, which will compete as the host team, Del Rio will also compete against the Southwest Region champs from Meridian, Miss., the Middle Atlantic Region champs from Mifflin County Pennsylvania, the New England Region champs from Trumbull, Conn.; the Ohio Valley Region champs from Lexington, Ky.; the Southeast Region champs from Tallahassee, Fla.; the Midwest Plains Region champs from Bismarck, N.D.; the Pacific Northwest Region champs from Kelso, Wash.; and the Pacific Southwest Region champs from Tri-Valley, Calif.
All tournament games will be played at the City of Eagle Pass Patsy Winn Sports Complex. All games from Aug. 11 to Aug. 15 will be pool play. After that, the top three teams from each division – American and National – will advance to a single-elimination tournament with the champion to be crowned Wednesday, Aug. 18.
Del Rio’s first game will be Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 4 p.m. against Tallahassee. Their second game will be Thursday, Aug. 12 at 5 p.m. against Pennsylvania, their third game will be Friday, Aug. 13 at 5 p.m. against Trumbull, and their final pool play game will be Saturday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. against Kelso.
According to the tournament directors, former Del Rio Babe Ruth board member, and longtime Del Rio baseball coach and supporter, Tony Reyes will be honored prior to Del Rio’s first game on Aug. 11. Reyes passed away in 2019.
This is a ticketed event. Tickets are available at the Eagle Pass Chamber of Commerce or the Parks and Recreation Department’s Multipurpose Center. Fans can also call 830-968-6195 for more information.
A family tournament pass, for two adults and a maximum of three children, is $50. An adult tournament pass, for persons age 18 or older, is $20. A child tournament pass, for persons ages 7 to 17, is $10. Children ages 6 or younger get in free. These passes cover all tournament games.
For people who may want to only see Del Rio play, day passes are available for $6 for adults and $3 for children. The passes cover all four games that day.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
