The Oakland Babe Ruth 12-and-under baseball squad's quest for a World Series title remains alive.

Oakland clinched the NorCal championship July 12 with a 3-0 shutout over Fremont to earn a spot in the Cal Ripken Pacific Northwest regional tournament.

The tourney in Nephi, Utah, begins Wednesday, and the winner of the region will earn a place in the national tournament in Tennessee.

Last season, the Oakland Babe Ruth team won the Pacific Northwest region before bowing out in nationals two weeks later.

"As a program, we have quite a history," Oakland Babe Ruth League President Louie Butler said. "In the past, our teams have won 12 World Series titles. The team we are sending (to Utah) has good pitching, excels at timely hitting, and we have a couple of veterans who have been in the spotlight before."

Leading the charge for the Oakland Babe Ruth squad is pitcher Alexis Gomez, who propelled his team to the NorCal title last Saturday afternoon by pitching a shutout against Fremont.

Gomez also hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning to complete the victory.

"We played in Maryland for nationals last year and came up just a little bit short," Butler said. "To get there, we beat the winner of the Central California section, which is the team we are playing first next week. I know they are gunning for us."

The 15-player squad is made up of Oakland residents and is looking to return to the World

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Series.

Tax-deductible donations to support the Oakland Babe Ruth All-Stars can be made by contacting Butler at (510) 395-4753 or PO Box 27549, Oakland, CA, 94602.