Squirrels win Senior Babe Ruth regional tournament

The Charleston Fighting Squirrels beat Eden Prairie, Minnesota, 4-1 on Sunday night to secure its second straight birth in the Senior Babe Ruth World Series.

The Squirrels opened the Midwest Plains Regional final with three consecutive hits in the bottom of the first inning.

The third hit of the frame off the bat of Luke Haines plated the game's first run. Ryan Fortner followed with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left field to pad Charleston's lead to 2-0.

Eden Prairie cleanup hitter Aaron Kerber cut the deficit in half with a leadoff home run in the top of the second inning.

Charleston tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth.

Colton Hampton drew a leadoff walk in the frame, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Haines and scored on a two-out RBI single by Matt Ulrich.

Chandler Young added a one-out, pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Jarrett Sandlin pitched the first six innings for Charleston. He allowed one run on three hits, walked two and struck out six.

Doug Still struck out the side in the top of the seventh for a three-out save.

Alex Beneke, who pitched six innings in a 3-1 loss to Charleston on Friday, pitched a complete game and took the loss. He allowed nine hits, walked three and struck out three.

Hampton and Ulrich both finished 2 for 3.

Kerber was 2 for 3 for Eden Prairie.

Charleston (40-16) went 5-0 at the Midwest Plains Regional. The Fighting Squirrels beat Holyoke (Colorado) 11-1 on Thursday, Eden Prairie 3-1 on Friday and Dickinson 9-0 on Saturday to finish 3-0 in pool play.

Charleston beat Oskaloosa (Iowa) 4-1 in the regional semifinal Sunday afternoon.

The Fighting Squirrels will compete in the World Series from Aug. 7 to 14 in Ephrata, Washington. It is the third time the Fighting Squirrels have advanced to the World Series in the last 10 years.

The Charleston Fighting Squirrels advanced to the national tournament with a victMidwest Plains Regional championship with a 4-1 victory against Oskaloosa, Iowa, on Sunday afternoon.

Charleston jumped on top of Oskaloosa early with two runs on two hits and a walk in the bottom of the first inning. Matt Ulrich drove home Charleston's first run with a sacrifice fly. A two-out RBI single by Blake Wolferding plated Charleston's second run.

The Fighting Squirrels padded their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of third when Luke Haines hit a leadoff double, advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored on a suicide-squeeze bunt by Ulrich.

Brad Potts retired the first six hitters he faced. Oskaloosa collected back-to-back singles at the start of the third inning, but the runners were stranded at second and third as Potts retired the next three batters.

Oskaloosa tallied two more hits in the top of the fourth, including an RBI single by Travis Gile cut the Charleston lead to 3-1.

Colton Hampton increased Charleston's lead to 4-1 with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fourth.

Both pitchers went the distance.

Potts, a Dexter High School graduate, earned a compete-game victory for Charleston. He allowed one earned run on six hits, struck out nine and did not walk a batter in seven innings pitched. He threw 76 pitches.

Jesse VanDalen allowed three earned runs on six hits, walked three and struck out three in a losing effort. He threw 85 pitches.

Hampton, who bats leadoff for Charleston, finished 2 for 2 with a walk. He had a double among his hits and an RBI.

Ulrich tallied a team-high two RBIs without the benefit of a hit.

Haines finished 2 for 3, including one of Charleston's two doubles.

Eden Prairie Black (Minnesota) beat Fargo (North Dakota) 2-0 in the other semifinal Sunday afternoon.

Charleston played Eden Prairie in the Midwest Plains Regional championship Sunday night but results were not available at press time.

Charleston 4, Oskaloosa 1

Oskaloosa 000 100 0 -- 1 6 1

Charleston 201 100 x -- 4 6 0

WP -- Brad Potts. LP -- Jesse VanDalen. 2B -- Colton Hampton (CH), Luke Haines (CH). Multiples hits -- Charleston: Hampton 2-2, Haines 2-3; Oskaloosa: Nate Veldulzen 2-3.