A trio of West Siders helped fuel the remarkable run of the Modesto Senior Babe Ruth baseball team, which came within one game of winning the Babe Ruth World Series in Ohio last week.

Terance Marin, a 2007 graduate of Orestimba who is now a member of the Modesto Junior College baseball team, and OHS seniors Craig Beevers and Jack Escobar were part of the Modesto team that went 30-4 on the season.

Modesto punched its ticket to the Babe Ruth World Series by winning the state and regional tournaments.

Modesto lost to a loaded Portland, Ore., team 6-4 in the championship game. The local team went 4-2 in World Series play.

The Oregon team was stocked with players headed to Division I colleges, the local players said.

“We were the only team there who gave them any real competition,” said Marin, who pitched in the championship game.

“It was hard to lose, but we were in Ohio and got to the championship game,” Beevers said. “We lost by two runs to a bunch of guys who are going to play in the Pac-10. The two pitchers we faced in the championship game, one was going to Oregon and one was going to Arizona State.”

Team chemistry was a big part of the memorable season, the West Siders agreed.

“We all became like one family on the trip,” Escobar said. “It was exciting.”

Many of the players knew one another prior to the summer season, Marin said, and the team only grew closer as the summer wore on and the march through the playoffs continued.

“We started working hard for (a World Series berth),” Escobar said. “We got hungry.”

One of the season highlights, they agreed, was the moment that they sealed the regional tournament in Watsonville and realized that they were on their way to Ohio.

Modesto opened World Series play with a 6-3 win over Mobile, Ala. Marin was named the game’s MVP after he doubled and singled.

The following day Modesto earned a 10-2 win over Charleston, Miss. Modesto dropped a 3-2 decision to a team from Long Island, N.Y., in its third Series outing despite a strong pitching performance by Marin.

The California team closed out pool play with a 6-3 win over a Licking County, Ohio, team to emerge as the No. 1 seed from their pool.

In the semi-final, Beevers had four hits and was named MVP in Modesto’a 9-3 win over Houma, La. That game sent Modesto into the finals against the powerhouse Oregon Club.

Beevers received the sportsmanship award in Modesto’s bracket.