Hit or Miss: Jen Blanco

The first week of school didn’t go quite as planned for Nolan Middle School eighth-grader Jacob Danowski — and he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

Rather than heading back to school with all of his classmates Aug. 10, the 13-year-old first baseman and pitcher had batting practice in Ottumwa, Iowa. Danowski is a part of the Sarasota Babe Ruth 13U All-Star team, which advanced to the Babe Ruth League World Series for the first time since 1988. 

The tournament began Aug. 11 and was scheduled to run through Aug. 18, meaning, if all goes according to plan, Danowski technically won’t start attending classes until the third week of school. 

Danowski was on the mound for Sarasota in the Southeast Regional Championship July 30, allowing four hits while striking out three through six innings of work to propel Sarasota to a 3-1 victory against Glen Allen, Va. and a World Series berth. 

“I just kept telling myself, ‘Don’t throw balls,’” Danowski said. 

Sarasota split its first two games of the tournament beating Davenport, Iowa 13-6 Aug. 11, before dropping a 6-4 decision to Spokane, Wash. Aug. 12. Danowski and his teammates wrapped up pool play against Meridian, Miss. Aug. 14 and Pearl City, Hawaii Aug. 15. 

While Danowski was more than willing to extend his summer vacation for two more weeks, the achievement in and of itself made the two-hour flight combined with a three-hour bus ride to Ottumwa more than worth it. 

“It’s just the experience of knowing you went to the World Series,” Danowski said. “It’s intense. You’re bringing the best players from each team all together.” 

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The Manatee Basketball Club Elite 17U boys basketball team didn’t have its usual rotation when it traveled up to Fort Wayne, Ind. for the Gym Rats Basketball Association National Championship July 21 to July 24. 

In fact, the team’s roster was practically cut in half. 

MBC Elite only had six players, including five guards and one post player, available to travel to the national championship due to summer vacations, football camps, college visits and other obligations. 

While their approach to the game may have been slightly altered as a result in terms of what they could do defensively, the end result remained the same. 

“We actually had much better chemistry and flow with a shorter rotation of players playing longer shifts,” coach Steve Hester said. “The boys did a great job of communicating and covering up for each other on the defensive end.” 

Rebounding from a slow start, MBC Elite came back to win the Gold Bracket Championship with a 66-61 victory against the Indiana Legends - Club 1. Championship players include: Braden River’s Deoni Cason, Cardinal Mooney’s Richard Krupa and Lakewood Ranch’s Justin Muscara, Devin Twenty, Damien Gordon and Sam Hester.

With four minutes to play in the game, MBC Elite managed to protect a three to four-point lead while making decisions and executing their game plan without relying on their coaches. Those final minutes proved just how far the players have come since MBC Elite was formed five years ago when the players were in seventh grade. 

“It was a joy to see how much they have grown and how far they have progressed in their basketball knowledge and confidence,” Steve Hester said. 

Together, the boys have won bracket championships at three different national levels, starting with the AAU Division II National Championship as freshmen. 

“This win was special because being short-handed made every game a battle for survival, and it required that every single member of the team contribute significantly to the effort. There was no  margin for error.”