The Pampa Optimist Club All-Stars finished as the runner-up at the Babe Ruth West Texas State Baseball tournament held last week in Seminole. With the second-place finish Pampa earned an invitation to the Southwest Regional Tournament that will start on July 15th in Mobile, Alabama.
In the first game of the State Tournament, Pampa faced the home team from Seminole on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. After a lengthy lightning delay, Pampa exploded for runs in the top of the 1st inning and would eventually hold on for a 13-9 win. The win would move Pampa into the winners bracket to face off against a very solid Andrews team on Thursday.
In game two versus Andrews, Pampa found themselves tied 4-4 after 4 innings, but Andrews would push a run across in the bottom of the 5th and eventually hold on for a 5-4 victory over Pampa. The loss would send Pampa the losers bracket where they would face off against Seminole in a win or go home situation.
The Seminole game was scheduled for 8:00 PM on Friday night, but the game was called due to rain and re-scheduled for Saturday morning. Pampa would get back on track againts Seminole by scoring 3 in the first, 6 in the second and three in the 6 to win by a score of 12-2.
Pampa was then scheduled to play Levelland, however, Levelland had to withdraw from the tournament at the last minute, so Pampa was declared the winner by forfeit.
Pampa would then face Kermit, with the winner of that game going to the championship to face Andrews. Kermit would plate 2 runs in the first and one in the second, but Pampa would add a run in the second inning, one run in the 3rd inning and two runs in the fifth inning to win the game by a score of 4-3. Pampa would then advance to the championship.
To win the championship, Pampa would have to beat Andrews twice. Pampa would score one run in the top of the first, but Andrews came back with four runs in the first inning. Andrews would add a run in the second and two runs in the third. Pampa fought back strongly by scoring three runs in the 5th inning, but Andrews would hold on for a 7-4 victory and win the West Texas State Championship.
The top two teams were invited to represent the West Texas District in the Southwest Regional Tournament starting July 15th in Mobile, AL. The winner of that tournament would advance to the Babe Ruth World Series.
The players, coaches and parents would like to thank all of the generous people in Pampa for donating money to help pay for uniforms and some of the travel costs. If you are interested in donating for the Regional Tournament,. please contact Kaleb Snelgrooes at 806-683-9474 or Kevin Hunt at 806-661-8654. Donations can also be sent via venmo to @shawnahunt4 -- if you donate, your name will be put on a banner that is on display at all games.
