Babe Ruth 15U All-Stars capture first state title

The Manatee Babe Ruth 15U All-Stars won the Florida State Tournament July 15, marking the first time the program has won a state championship.

The team opened the tournament with a 4-2 victory over Sanford. Tyler Henning allowed two runs on three hits in five innings of work. Jeremy Luna, Jose Rosado and Luke Darnell each went 2-for-3 at the plate.
Manatee followed up its victory with an 11-4 win over Ocala. Luna and Kyle Buser each had a double and a triple and combined for five runs.

In the winner’s bracket final, Manatee edged past defending state runner-up Longwood 8-6. Darnell hit a home run off of the centerfield fence to give Manatee an early lead, and Zack Duncan made a game-saving catch in right field with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to preserve the victory.

Manatee went on to drop a 10-1 decision to Ocala before coming back to edge past Ocala 8-7 to win the state championship.

The team will now advance to the Southeastern Regional Tournament Aug. 2 to Aug. 7, for a chance to compete in the Babe Ruth World Series.