North Bend’s baseball team will try to avenge one of its two losses this season when the Bulldogs host Newport today in a Class 4A semifinal game with a berth in the state championship contest on the line.

The Cubs were the last team to beat North Bend, handing the Bulldogs a 4-3 setback at Newport on April 1. North Bend has won 22 straight games since then and is 24-2 on the season.

The winner of today’s game meets either Sisters or Astoria at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer for the Class 4A title on Saturday. The championship game is tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m.

A huge crowd is expected for the 4:30 p.m. game at Clyde Allen Field. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students.

“We’re definitely excited,” said North Bend coach Brad Horning. “We’re just happy that we get to play a game today and we don’t have to try to get into Clyde Allen. You may not be able to find a place to stand in that place.”

The Bulldogs reached the semifinals by rallying in the seventh inning to top Henley 8-7 in the first round and beating La Salle in 10 innings in the quarterfinals on Friday.

North Bend practiced Monday to stay sharp before today’s game.

Horning has a lot of respect for Newport, which spent much of last season at No. 1 before losing in the playoffs to La Grande, the same team that eliminated North Bend on the way to the state title.

Newport’s playoff wins this year have been 8-1 over Phoenix, which was ranked No. 1 for much of the season before the Bulldogs moved up to that spot, and 7-1 over La Grande, the defending champions.

“I think Newport’s playoff wins so far are very impressive,” Horning said.

The Cubs are 21-5 on the season, with one-run losses to North Marion, La Grande and Philomath, as well as defeats to Phoenix and Douglas — the latter on the back end of a doubleheader with Pleasant Hill.

In the April 1 meeting between the teams, Newport used pitchers Eddie Crowe and Travis Iverson, both veterans of last year’s squad.

“They’re typical of most playoff teams,” Horning said. “They’re very solid up the middle and have a batting order that can battle you up and down.”

North Bend has a similar strong lineup and a pitching staff led by standouts Bryce Weidman and Kale Forrester.

“The two programs are mirror images of each other,” Horning said.

Crowe, Iverson and Cole Skriver were teammates last summer with North Bend catcher Ethan Ottemiller on the Three Rivers Sandblasters American Legion baseball team that won Zone 3 and nearly reached the state title game. Forrester and North Bend centerfielder Alex Clark will join that group this summer.