Babe Ruth to Host New England Regionals

By Joyce Erekson

The 2015 baseball season is rapidly winding down, but the crew that keeps Greater Lynn Babe Ruth rolling from the start of the season in April to the final Fall Ball game in October is looking at a very busy off-season.

The volunteers will not only be gearing up for the start of the 2016 season, they’ll also be preparing to host the New England Regionals (15s), which will run Thursday, July 21, through Tuesday, July 26.  Although Greater Lynn Babe Ruth has hosted numerous district and state tournaments at Bowzer Complex over the years in both baseball and softball, this is will be the first time hosting a New England Regional baseball tournament. This is also the first time all the games will be played at Fraser Field.

“We’re really excited about it,” Babe Ruth President Jim Belliveau said. “This is huge for us.”

Belliveau said North Shore Navigators General Manager Bill Terlecky is “100 percent on board” with the plan. The Navigators will have a home game that first night. The Babe Ruth opening ceremonies will be held at the time and the Babe Ruth players will be able to dine on the deck and enjoy the game. Members of Lynn 13-year-old Babe Ruth team that won the World Series in 1983 will be invited to participate in the festivities.

Bellveau said the tournament will use a round robin format with the eight teams split into two divisions. There will be four games a day until Monday when the field gets narrowed down. The Lynn 15-year-old all-star team, managed by Leon Elwell, will receive an automatic bid to the regionals, so Lynn fans will have a horse in the race.

Belliveau, who is in his fifth year as president (14 years overall) said the Lynn crew has a lot of experience hosting tournaments. In bidding for the regionals, they had to put together a packet describing the field and  availability of things like nearby hotels and restaurants, concessions, rest rooms and parking.  Now they’ll need to put together an ad book and, among other things, line up ticket takers, concession coverage, security and an athletic trainer or ambulance coverage. Field maintenance will be a little easier than usual given the fact the games will be played at Fraser, which has a turf infield. Bowzer Complex will be available for the teams to use for practice.

“It’s a handful of guys who make this happen,” Belliveau said, citing hard work of people like  Dave Raymond, Elwell, Gary Leavitt, Jeff Earp, Jim Hennessey, Bob Cuozzo, Rick Germane, Sean Leydon, John Kelter and Pat McHale.

Belliveau said Lynn made a bid to get the regionals three years ago, but it was denied. He said he had hoped to see a Babe Ruth World Series in Lynn while he was involved, but getting the regionals this summer means a lot because many of the board members, including himself, will be leaving after the 2016 season.

“I want to do a bang-up job,” Belliveau said. “Wait until these people come in here and see this (Fraser Field) facilty. They’ll be amazed.”

Lynn is no stranger to hosting big baseball tournaments. The Babe Ruth baseball 13 and 14-year-old states were held in Lynn this past summer and Wyoma Little League was host to the Little League state  tournament.

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