Clatsop County All-Stars bounce back but come up short

Babe Ruth PNW tourney ‘worth the trip’

>Though results on the field at the Babe Ruth Pacific Northwest baseball tournament weren’t what the Lower Columbia 9U All-Stars had in mind, the team still showed a lot of talent.

>After a thrilling victory over West Linn 9U on July 12 to win state, the Lower Columbia boys packed up their bags and headed to Meridian, Idaho for the regional championships, held July 23 to 25. The boys faced off against some of the fiercest competition from the West Coast. Taking on teams from Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana, the Lower Columbia All-Stars finished 1-3. They started things off with a 17-1 loss to the Kennewick Americans 9U, before turning things around.

>They finished with a hard earned 12-10 victory over Nampa, Idaho. This qualified the boys for the quarterfinals where they took n the Bozeman Bucks 9U.

>The quarterfinal match between these teams was a classic back and forth game that ended up going to extra innings. After Lower Columbia jumped out to a 9-2 start, the Bucks started to crawl back. A six-run third inning for the Bucks brought them within one, and things weren’t decided until the eighth inning. Lower Columbia had a chance to walk things off in the bottom of seven as they loaded the bases, but Bozeman found a way to strand the runners. Lower Columbia went on to lose 14-13 in eight innings, concluding their season.

>Despite his team winning only one game at the tournament, head coach Adam Murray said he was proud of the boys.

>“We saw some really good teams at regionals,” Murray said. “Most of these teams have been together a lot longer than we have. It was eye opening for the boys and coaches to see the kind of baseball being played. But ultimately, this will be a great learning experience that they will always remember. If this doesn’t push the boys to get better I don’t know what will.”

>Murray credited his team for bouncing back after their initial games.

>“We had a rough first game, but the boys bore down and played three really good games after that,” Murray said. “To lose by one run in the quarterfinals is gut-wrenching — but it was worth the trip.”

>According to Murray, most of the teams at the regionals had at least 30 games under their belt as a team. Comparing that to his team with just 13 coming into the tournament, shows just how much this group has accomplished, he said. With four 8-year-old players on the team, Murray says they will have some returners. That will help Lower Columbia 9U strive for a higher level next year.

>“This was an outstanding group of boys who came together and got further than most people expected,” Murray said. “My hope as a coach was for us to go in there and compete. That’s what we did.”

>Lower Columbia ended their season with a 7-10 overall record. The combined team consisted of players from Warrenton, Seaside, Astoria and Ilwaco. It’s proof that there’s plenty of talented coastal baseball players in the pipeline for fans to keep an eye on in the coming years.

>Lower Columbia 9U All-Stars

>Brayden Bond

>Neymar Macareno

>Chance Sturgell

>Wally Wilson

>Graham Gustafson

>Isaac Stallsworth

>Nixin Helmer

>Weston Plant

>JB Chappell

>Lincoln Murray

>Brodi Salo

>Daxton Blaylock

>Coaches: Adam Murray, Daniel Sturgell, Derek Salo and Matt Gustafson