Nine family members place second in regional baseball tourney in Poland Published Aug. 6, 2006 By Senior Airman Clark Staehle 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs RAF MILDENHALL, England -- A youth baseball team, comprised mostly of children of Airmen from RAFs Mildenhall and Lakenheath, placed second in a tournament July 17 with a record of 5 and 2. The team, the London Youth Baseball League All Stars, represented England in the Junior League European, Middle East, and Africa Regional Tournament, held in Poland. While there, the team played seven games. In the first game, the team played Italy, defeating them 4-1. In the second game, the all-stars narrowly lost to Germany 5-4. The third time around, the team crushed Slovenia, sending 16 players across home plate to Slovenia's five. In the final game of pool play, the team defeated Belgium 9-6. The team's 3-1 record left them in second, behind Germany, earning a spot in the quarter-finals. After defeating Belarus 11-4, the team moved to the semi-finals to face the Netherlands. After defeating them 5-4, they went to the finals where they again played Germany. Germany scored their runs early, sending players home seven times and leaving the English team with no runs in the third inning, said Tech. Sergeant Chris Frederick, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron and team coach. The English team fought back, holding the Germans scoreless for the rest of the game, while tallying up three of their own. Their 7-3 loss was good enough for a second-place finish overall in the tournament. "This England team was the epitome of a true team," said Master Sgt. Michael Woodrow, 48th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron F-15 aircraft maintenance chief and team assistant coach. "They had three come-from-behind wins during the tournament because they all played their best and kept encouraging teammates to do the same, when it would've been easier to just hang their heads and quit. They didn't, and they reaped the rewards."