Lodi 14s fall shy of regional championship

The Lodi 14U all-star baseball team went 1-1 on Friday to fall one game short of the championship game in the Babe Ruth Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament in Santa Maria.

The Lodi squad started the day with a 4-3 victory over Westchester, the No. 2 Southern California team. It was Lodi’s fourth straight victory in an elimination game.

But the team’s improbable run came to an end in the afternoon with a 3-2 loss to Iolani, the Hawaii champion. Iolani will face Chandler, the Arizona champion, for the title today at Cal Poly. The winner moves on to the Babe Ruth 14-year-old World Series in Demopolis, Ala.

In the morning victory over Westchester, Bubba Stout went 3 1/3 innings, allowing three unearned runs on two hits and a strikeout, then Matt Oliver took the mound for the remaining 3 1/3 innings, allowing no runs while striking out two.

At the plate, Cooper Rostomily went 2-for2 with two RBIs, Auston Schmierer had a double and an RBI, Dylan Bartlett had a single, a walk and two runs, Oliver had a single, Stout had a single and an RBI, and J.T. Anderson had a walk and two runs.

But Lodi’s luck ran out against Iolani, a game that saw Lodi with just three hits — including another double and RBI from Schmierer. Stout and Oliver added single, and Bartlett and Dylan Evans had runs.

On the mound, Bartlett went 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, before Oliver took over for the last 1 2/3 innings, allowing a hit and nothing else.