It’s time for an update on local youth sports teams

Swampscott Little League softball manager Eve Gambale described her team as excited heading into its matchup with Jesse Burkett Little League in the state finals at the end of this week.”They’re looking forward to it,” Gambale said. “They’re hoping we can play like we can play ? It definitely could go either way, but we’re hoping we come out on the winning side of it.”The teams will take the field for Game One on Friday at 5:30 p.m., then return for the second game on Saturday at 3 p.m., with an if-necessary game on Sunday. The games will take place at Rockwood Field on the Worcester State College campus.”It’s a good one-and-a-half hours or two hours, depending on traffic,” Gambale said.The team has been together for about a month now, as its members were chosen in mid-June. Gambale has managed all-star teams in the past, serving as an assistant coach two other times, and her daughters have enjoyed success in Little League as well, with her daughter Jessica playing on this year’s team.BABE RUTH 15’SLynn Babe Ruth’s 15-year-old all-star team is in Plymouth this weekend for the state championship tournament.This particular age group ended Saugus’ two-year hold on the championship last Monday night with a win over the Saugonians at World Series Park.The entire series will be played at Siever Field. The last time a Lynn team played a state tournament in Plymouth was in 2006, when the 14-year-old squad under the direction of Ruben Pimental swept to a championship and played in the New England tournament in Simsbury, Conn.The state committee will meet Tuesday night to determine dates and times for all games in that tournament.