Baseball teams reach regionals

With a championship opportunity no longer in the cards, the Camas-Washougal Granite Construction Senior Babe Ruth baseball team walked off the field as winners at the Pacific Northwest regional tournament Thursday.

“I wanted them to be able to walk away saying they honestly left it all on the field,” said head coach Dennis Devlin. “It’s not about winning and losing anymore, it’s about having fun and making lasting memories. Build on this more as a life lesson instead of a baseball lesson.”

After two tough losses to Alberta, Canada and Port Angeles to begin the tournament, Granite broke out for an 18-2 victory against Spring Creek, Idaho Thursday, at Kindsfather Field across the street from Clark College. Gage Metzger pitched all five innings, allowed just three hits and gained six strikeouts. Braden Devlin, Conner Combs and Alex Boyer each drove home three runs. Levi Middling knocked in two runs and Matt Rawlins added an RBI.

Granite defeated Wyoming 10-8 Thursday night, at Propstra Park next to Hudson’s Bay High School. Brandon Casteel, Coombs, Jake Tomasini, Josh Akers and Aaron Eyler came through with clutch hits for Camas-Washougal. It was the final youth baseball game for Devlin, Coombs, Metzger, Tomasini, Jake Meyers, Eyler and Boyer. Coach Devlin said Combs, Meyers and Tomasini have been playing with his son Braden since they were 9 and 10.

“It’s neat to see those boys grow up and become men, but still play this game like they are kids,” Coach Devlin said.

Jay Arvidson, Brandon Callaway and Nick Costa-Stange also play for Granite Construction. Together, they captured the first Senior Babe Ruth state title for Camas-Washougal in many years.

“It feels good to do it for Camas-Washougal,” Braden Devlin said. “We’ll always be able to look back on this and feel proud.”

ECLL enters region today

The East County Little League Junior all-stars finished in first place at the district tournament July 5 to 10, at the Harmony Sports Complex.

President Jennie Brown said this is the first team from the league to win a district championship in more than 10 years.

East County beat Evergreen 12-6 in the title game. Kirk Brown pitched five plus innings to earn his second victory of the tournament, both against Evergreen. Alex Orr went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs, Kaden Corbitt added two hits and Troy Prince-Butterfield had a double.

East County defeated Evergreen 10-4 in the first game. After a 16-15 loss to Cascade, East County beat Fort Vancouver 17-2 and Central Vancouver 15-5 to get to the championship game.

Cade Mulholland finished 9-for-13 for a .692 batting average. Brown knocked in 13 runs to go with his two pitching victories. Prince-Butterfield stole seven bases and scored 11 runs.

The Junior League Baseball Western Regional Tournament begins today on Kindsfather Field, at Clark College. East County faces Oregon today, at 5 p.m., Northern California Thursday, at 6 p.m., Utah Friday, at 6 p.m., and Burien, Wash., Sunday, at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.juniorregionals.com.

The East County Junior League all-stars are Hunter MacPhail, Jason Powell, Zachary Jones, Jack Olson, Noah Merino, Nole Thompson, John Miner, Orr, Corbitt, Prince-Butterfield, Brown and Mulholland.

Washougal Express earns third at state

The Washougal Express took third place in the Junior Baseball Association’s Midget National state tournament July 10 to 13, at Mooberry Elementary School, in Hillsboro, Ore.

The Express defeated the Oregon City Dragons by 10 runs in the first round. Jonah Powell pitched two innings of shut out baseball and the bats stayed hot throughout the lineup.

The Express beat the Beaverton Beavers 24-5. Blake Mattern tossed three solid innings on the mound. Sam Evers delivered a bases loaded double in the third inning.

Keizer knocked the Express into the consolation bracket with a 5-0 victory. Washougal stayed alive with wins against Centennial and Gladstone. Shane Farra had a bases loaded double to back Mattern on the mound against Centennial. Gavin Keyser went 4-for-4 with 6 RBI against Gladstone. Lebanon beat the Express 7-3 in the semifinals.

Powell, Mattern, Evers, Farra, Gavin Keyser, Trey Keyser, Jackson Plieth, Jack Dolan, Bryce Condon, Cody Crawford, Scott Condon and Travis Gibson play for the Washougal Express.