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Four area baseball teams are on the road this week, playing at four different regional tournaments, two in New Jersey, one in West Virginia and one in Ohio. The northbound contingency features Frederick County's 14-year-old Babe Ruth team against Metro New York at 5:45 p.m. today in the opening round of the Middle Atlantic Regional Tournament at Bridgewater, N. J. Thurmont 's Junior Little League (13-14) team heads to Freehold, N.J., where it faces Maine at 7 p.m. Saturday, in the East Regional opener. Going west, Mount Airy 's Gold Star Post 191 takes on South Charleston, W. Va. at 4:30 p.m. today in Day 1 of the Mid-Atlantic Regional American Legion Tournament at West Virginia University's Hawley Field in Morgantown; and the Brunswick Orioles begin play in the NABF Regionals today at Youngstown, Ohio. The Babe Ruth regional runs through Monday; the Junior League Tournament runs through next week; and the American Legion Tournament runs through Monday. Babe Ruth Frederick County's win in the state 14-year-old tournament marks continuation of the team's success it had when it won last year's state 13-year-old tournament. Jim Wigfield, the manager for last year's 13-year-old team and this year's 14-year-old squad, said it's the reason when the league names its all-star managers, it's a three-year plan. "It brings more consistency to the team," Wigfield said. "Eleven of the 14 players I have on the team played for me last year as 13-year-olds. When I agreed to be the manager, I knew it would be for three years. It's a good idea." Tournament experience has carried over from last year. It's that kind of experience Wigfield is hoping will get his team through the pool-play tournament. "The skill levels of the players have improved," Wigfield said. "They've also learned to relax. That helps because it's a big step from one division to the next. Our strength lies in our experience." With capable batters all through his lineup, Wigfield said he's confident he can get key hits from any spot in the order. His pitching corps is headed up by Austin Klingensmith, today's scheduled starter. Brian Smith, Travis Phelps, Jason Trot and Michael Omelchenko round out the list of pitchers for Frederick County. "The first thing we have to do is win that first game," Wigfield said. "That takes some of the pressure off." Junior Little League When tournament play began in June, Thurmont manager Ed Schildt had a suspicion the group of players he put together had potential. "But you just never know," he said. "Anything can happen when you get into a tournament." A lot happened -- a lot of winning. Thurmont breezed through the District 2 playoff series, moving on to the state tournament at Chewsville in Washington County. The county team went undefeated through the winner's bracket, facing Talbot in the championship. Talbot won the game, forcing an extra game to decide the championship. Thurmont won the rematch for the league's first Junior League state title. "It all came together," Schildt said. "We had good pitching and solid defense. Our bats weren't working as much as I would have liked them to but when you reach the state level, that can happen. You're facing some pretty stiff competition." Key players for Thurmont include Garrett Sprankle, Joey Johnson and Evan Lambert. Schildt said he has not named a starter for Saturday's opener. It's the second state baseball championship for Thurmont 's Little League program. Thurmont won the state 11-12 championship in 2005. The two state titles bode well for baseball in the Thurmont area, Schildt said. Catoctin High School's baseball team made it to the state 1A championship game in May. Thurmont 's American Legion Post 168 baseball team finished third in the Western Maryland District standings. American Legion Mount Airy looks to continue its stunning postseason run. Gold Star Post 191 was a late entry in the state tournament. The team finished second in the Western Maryland District, but was added to the tournament because another team was needed after the North Central District merged with the Eastern Shore District this year. Mount Airy (33-14) made the most of the opportunity, winning the second state crown in program history -- the last one came in 1999 -- by going 5-0 in the Maryland tournament. That run included a stirring comeback win in extra innings over Wicomico and a victory over Western Maryland District champ Frederick , which had beaten Gold Star Post 191 all four times during the regular season. Mount Airy 's lineup is loaded with hitters. In the state tournament, Brian Paulhus led the way by hitting .550, while Jason Driver, Taylor Henry, Jon Mahaffey, Jake Ringold and Mike Virbickis all hit at least .400. Doug Anuszewski, Garrett Price, Nathan Darnley, Alec Rogness and Tripp Staley all recorded wins. Manager George Richardson also cited speed as a team strength. South Charleston (41-10) earned its fourth state crown -- its first since 1995 -- by winning all four games in the West Virginia tournament. Jack Hudson paced South Charleston's offense at the states, hitting .643 with seven RBIs. Post 94 used four pitchers to contain Berkeley's powerful offense in the championship game ----Josh Hudson, Brandon Adkins, Justin Henry and Brett Kemerer. Henry struck out 15 during a complete game earlier in the tournament.
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