Cal Ripken All-Stars Advance To Idaho

No need to change things now for the Glasgow Cal Ripken 12U All-Stars. Focusing on fundamentals, concentrating on a game at a time, and representing Glasgow with class works well.

The shooting stars begin the Cal Ripken Regional All-Star Tournament on July 26 in Meridian, Idaho. To advance there, they rose from No. 7 seed in the eight-team Montana championship round to the state title game.

“We've got a great group of kids who put in the dedication and work, and what they've accomplished is pretty amazing when you look at the state level and see the teams that they have had to go compete with,” head coach Shawn Lawson told The Courier on Tuesday.

The 12 and under all-stars placed second to Whitefish at the state tournament in Belgrade last week with big-time resolve. They earned four one-run victories – every game they won.

“My ulcers were acting up by the fourth one,” Lawson said.

Glasgow defeated Glendive in the quarterfinals and Belgrade in the semifinals before falling to Whitefish in the championship. In pool play, they beat Whitefish and Bitterroot and lost to Kalispell and Gallitin Valley.

That's seven games in 3½ days.

“They absolutely earned it,” Lawson said of moving on to regionals. “When you get to state competition, every team is solid and every team can play baseball and is there for a reason.”

He said he has yet to learn who Glasgow will play in Idaho, where the opening ceremony is July 25 and games July 26-28. The regional champion advances to the Cal Ripken World Series, which begins Aug. 9 at Winchester, Mass.

“Right now our big focus is on everyone's health and focusing on what our goal is – to play good baseball, represent our part of the state and the state of Montana, and to do it in a respectful and classy way,” Lawson said. “These are kids who are about to become young men. There's a lot of swings in emotions at that age. The better they can play fundamentally sound and control their emotions, the better they can compete. It's character building and a life lesson.”

A little more of it comes this weekend. The stars will hold a free-will car wash from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 21, in the Pamida parking lot to help support their playoff run.

The Glasgow 12U All-Stars are Brett Glaser, Tyler Hersom, Brayden Jackson, Bryce Legare, Kevin McDonald, Justice Meland, Blaine Myrick, Cade Myrick, Bryce Peaton, Shane Sinclair and Darrin Wersal.

The other coaches are Mike Myrick and Kevin Wersal.