July 18th, 2019
Davenport Babe Ruth 15U Wins State, On To Regionals!
Davenport Babe Ruth Baseball’s 15 U team hit a towering home run in the state championship this week, winning the title and bringing home the gold to the Quad-Cities! 
And now, the team, coached by Brandon Jens, is getting ready to head to the Midwest Plains Regionals next week in North Dakota, after defeating Davis County in the finals 9-3. The game featured a six-run-rally in the sixth inning to break the tie and send the boys to the next stage. It was sweet revenge, as Davis County had beaten the same team in the tournament the last two years, both times by a single run.
In the semifinals, Davenport knocked out Ottumwa, which was trying to win a state title in three different age divisions over the past three years, by a 4-1 tally.
“Two years ago, we won a 15-year-old state title here in Ottumwa. We also qualified for the (2016) 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series that was held in Ottumwa,” Jens told the Ottumwa Courier after the win. “It’s funny. Every year we ask where we’re going to go for state knowing in the back of our minds that the answer is going to be Ottumwa.
“It’s great to come back here and win like this. Our league has done really well at the state level, but this particular group of kids had not. I think they were starting to wonder if this would be the crew that couldn’t get it done.”
“It’s great to come back here and win like this. Our league has done really well at the state level, but this particular group of kids had not. I think they were starting to wonder if this would be the crew that couldn’t get it done.”
“We had to do our best to keep our kids engaged and the parents engaged to actually keep playing league baseball,” Jens said. “Travel ball has hurt our league just like it’s hurt a lot of leagues. I’m not against travel ball. I just think there’s still a place for Babe Ruth baseball as well. We work really well with our high school programs. We bring a lot of strengths to communities. Two years ago, we had 10 teams in our district. This year, we were down to eight. I don’t know what we’re going to be next year, but we’re going to try and keep it strong.”
Now comes the difficult task of fundraising for the trip to regionals! Fans can help out by checking out the team’s GoFundMe page at Click here to support Davenport Babe Ruth 15U – Regionals organized by Brandon Jens
And folks can support the team this weekend at the River Bandits game!
Come support the 15U Babe Ruth State Champs this Sunday @ Modern Woodman Park! Reach out to a player or coach of the team if you would like to purchase an $8 General Admission ticket! For more information see
https://youtu.be/h-r0OOW_qXM
https://youtu.be/h-r0OOW_qXM
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