All-stars lose to Newburgh

POSEYVILLE - Tell City 14-year-old Babe Ruth all-stars held their Newburgh opponents scoreless in the first inning of a district-tournament game Saturday in Poseyville, but their opponents "came back and started hitting in the second," and went on to win the game 16-6, according to Tell City Coach John Nelson.

The loss eliminated Tell City from the tourney.

Trent Nelson got a single in the first inning, then stole second, third and home to put Tell City up 1-0 in the first inning. Rain delayed the second inning, which saw Newburgh score nine runs.

"They just hit the ball real well," the coach said. "Our defense was good, but we played on a high-school field, which is a little more spread out than a Babe Ruth field."

Trent Nelson went 3-for-3 with three singles in the game. Nathan Wood got two singles and a double, while starting pitcher Kenneth McCallister got two singles to go 2-for-3. Devin McDaniel got a double in his 1-for-1 attempt.

David McDaniel pitched the last three innings, the coach said.

"We have a very good team, but we're in a tough district, Nelson said. "Next year I believe we're getting moved to the North Harrison District, where we can get better and get more confidence."

Teams in the current district come from larger communities, he continued.

"Other teams have a lot of players to pull from, so they can get the cream of the crop," he said.

He noted his team has improved.

"In our previous game, we struck out 11 times. We only struck out five times this game, so our batting has improved. But when you get down 9-1, it's tough to come back."

"Everyone had fun," however, he said. "That's important to me as a coach."