Jr. Babes take a 20-0 victory

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent 
 
The 2020 season for the Junior and Senior Babe Ruth baseball teams began in the middle of May, kicking things off with their first game on June 1. It was a home game against a Cheyenne team, and according to Jared Evick, who helps out with the Junior Babes team (coached by Phil Lipp and Neil Schiller of Upton), it was the first game they held with the social distancing regulations. 
“It actually went really good,” Evick said. “It was our first go at it with the guidelines.”
At first, they weren’t sure if a season was even possible, but knowing everyone had been stuck inside during quarantine, baseball season seemed like a necessity, according to Evick. With the help of Dr. Michael Jording and the Newcastle Babe Ruth Baseball board, the baseball season was able to move forward. 
However, because it was a close to last-minute decision, there was some scrambling to put registration together. Evick said it came down to the last day, but everyone worked hard to make it happen. 
“We were able to get that done with the help of Dr. Jording,” Evick said. “We were able to say, ‘Yes. We’re going to have a season.’”
It was a mad rush signing up the more than 20 kids participating on the junior and senior teams and the 85 or so Little League baseballers. With signup was the issuing of equipment and immediately starting practice, but Evick said that when the athletes were finally able to get back on the field, they went “crazy.” 
“We lose too many kids this year. … They needed something to do,” Evick said. “It was a good crazy.” 
To keep within the limits of social distancing, only two or three kids are allowed in the dugout and the rest of the team is lined up along the fence 6 feet apart. They also make sure to sanitize the bats and helmets when trading them, but almost everyone was able to supply their own equipment, so the work was minimal. 
Evick said that, at first, he thought it was going to be a little tough keeping up with all the regulations, but it soon “became normal” and is not a big deal. 
Since then, the Junior Babes are able to have at least two games a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Evick said that although they are a young team, they’re looking good for the season. 
“The team looks exceptionally well,” Evick said. “They’ve come along really well.” 
Head coach Phil Lipp said the experience these boys have is “starting to pay off” as they work on transitioning them from the Little League level to the Junior Babes, preparing them for the faster, bigger pace they will enter at the high school level when they age up into Senior Babes. 
On Saturday, June 20, the boys went to Buffalo for a doubleheader, where they claimed two wins. The Newcastle squad beat Buffalo by seven runs in a 13-6 game, and then repeated their winning streak in an 8-6 game, according to Kristi Lipp, secretary of the board. 
On Tuesday, they competed against the Mariners in Gillette, where Newcastle pitcher Matthew Drake pitched a no-hitter for a 3-0 victory.
“He threw a great game,” Lipp said. 
Batting was one of the struggles for the team, Lipp said, so at practice, they’ve been heavily working on improving the team’s batting skills. And it paid off because on Thursday, June 25, they scored a 20-0 victory against the Yankees team of Gillette. 
“They’re a pretty coachable bunch,” Lipp said. “We’re always improving.”
Lipp’s goals for the team are to improve and add to the skills of each individual player, whether that means working on pitching or batting or other facets of the game. 
One of the biggest weaknesses of the team, according to Evick, is that the kids start letting things get to their heads and begin to shut down and make errors, causing a “domino effect.” So, the focus of the season has been on staying positive. While there’s still room to grow, Evick said, they have noticed improvement. 
“As coaches, we stay positive,” Evick said. “Baseball is a game of failures.” 
However, he said the Newcastle team has strength in unity. Many of the kids have grown up and been playing together since very young, so the unity of the team is really strong. 
“We’re a tightknit group,” Evick said. “They all come together as a team.” 
Lipp’s goal for the season is to have a winning record, and so far, they’re on the right track with nine wins, four losses and one tie in the books. On Tuesday, June 30, the team was scheduled to play against Buffalo in Gillette at 6 p.m. Because Buffalo is tougher competition, according to Lipp, they expected to try a different strategy for pitching. 
On Thursday, Newcastle was to return to Gillette for another 6 p.m. game, and then they have the weekend off. On July 6, the team will play a doubleheader in Rapid City and then a home game the next day. The Junior Babes will finish out their season with a tournament July 11-12 because regionals were canceled. 
“We’re pretty proud of them,” Lipp said.