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| Jake Stevens pitches for North Coos in a game against Roseburg Horizon earlier this month. World Photo by Lou Sennick. |
American Legion Team Capsules
Thursday, July 31, 2008 11:09 AM PDT
North Coos Waterfront
Season Record: 24-17 (12-12 Area 4 North)
Coach: Brad Horning
Top Players: P Bryce Weidman; C/1B Dalton Iveans; P/OF Jesse McClintock; P/OF Jake Stevens; SS Andrew Slack; OF Skyler Walton.
How they qualified for state: As the host team, North Coos earned an automatic bid.
Noteworthy: North Coos is in the tournament for the second straight summer and recovered from a late-season slump by winning five straight games to end the year. The Waterfront has a 5-7 record against teams in the tournament, but is 5-1 against those clubs when playing at Clyde Allen Field.
Roseburg Pepsi Bottlecaps
Season Record: 22-10 (16-8 Area 4 North)
Coach: Richie Charles
Top Players: C/P Vince Ampi; OF/P Cameron Newell; OF Micah Audiss; OF/IF Blayne Sterling; P Chris Case; P Jay Tovey.
How they qualified for state: The Bottlecaps earned the top seed from Area 4’s North Division when Sheldon decided not to participate in the playoffs. Roseburg beat North Medford in a seeding game to grab Area 4’s top seed to the tournament.
Season vs. North Coos: The Bottlecaps swept a doubleheader at Roseburg 1-0 and 4-3 on June 18. The teams split at North Bend on July 16, with Roseburg winning the opener 8-1 and North Coos taking a 4-3 victory in the nightcap.
Noteworthy: Roseburg Pepsi includes primarily players from Roseburg High School, mostly sophomores and juniors in the school’s successful program. Both Case and Ampi are unbeaten as pitchers this summer.
North Medford Mavericks
Season Record: 36-14 (27-5 Area 4 South)
Coach: Brett Wolfe
Top Players: OF/P Hayden Wolfe; INF Chris Bradshaw; P Bradey Shipley; P Mark Cokenour; 1B Stephen Cole.
How they qualified for state: North Medford split a doubleheader with Ashland on the final day of the regular season to edge the Pilots for first place in Area 4’s South Division.
Season vs. North Coos: The Mavericks swept at Medford 6-1 and 8-4 on June 26. North Coos swept at North Bend 11-3 and 10-3 on July 22.
Noteworthy: North Medford is one of four teams returning to the state tournament and went 2-2 in last year’s tournament after winning the state title in 2006. The team’s best player, Cody James, was lost for the summer when he tore his meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament in the first inning of the season finale against Ashland. The high school team won the Class 6A title in 2007.
Ashland Pilots
Season Record: 29-8 (26-6 Area 4 South)
Coach: Royce Miller
Top Players: P/OF/1B Garrett Tygerson; P/OF Ian Kendall; SS Nick Hall; Utility Hayden Miller; P Luke Stone.
How they qualified for state: The Pilots beat North Eugene 9-1 in the Area 4 playoffs.
Season vs. North Coos: The Pilots swept at Ashland 21-3 and 13-9 on July 2. North Coos swept at North Bend 5-4 and 10-6 on July 6.
Noteworthy: Ashland is the defending state champion and won three games in the regional tournament in Alaska before being eliminated last summer. Ashland High School also won the Class 5A state title this spring, though two of the top players from that team are playing this summer on the Class AAA Medford Mustangs.
Grants Pass Miners
Season Record: 23-12 (22-10 Area 4 South)
Coach: Travis Osborne
Top Players: P Mike Suthann; P Taylor Barrs; SS Dylan Armanino; 3B Seth Damatti; 1B Logan Werner.
How they qualified for state: Grants Pass finished third in the Area 4 South and then rallied for a 13-11 win over Roseburg Horizon in the league playoffs on Sunday.
Season vs. North Coos: The teams did not meet this year.
Noteworthy: Grants Pass won 12 straight games to qualify for the league playoffs. One of two Class A teams in the Grants Pass area, the Miners get nearly all their players from Hidden Valley High School, though a few also come from Illinois Valley and North Valley.
Pendleton Merchants
Season Record: 26-17
Coach: Travis Zander
Top Players: P Isaac Henslee; P James Caldwell; P Dillon Wallace; OF Jeff Eickstaedt; C Dannon Baker; SS Wyatt Whitten; 1B Kolby Haliewicz.
How they qualified for state: Pendleton won the Area 1 tournament, beating The Dalles 2-1 in a best-of-three series, losing the opener 13-12 and then winning 7-4 and 13-9, both games decided in extra innings.
Season vs. North Coos: The teams did not meet, though Pendleton lost to the Waterfront at last year’s state tournament.
Noteworthy: The Merchants return to the state tournament after losing both their games in last year’s tournament. Mistakes led to multiple runs by their foes in that tournament and Zander hopes the team can reverse that trend this year.
Jake’s Crawfish
Season Record: 32-22-1
Coach: Jeremy Shetler
Top Players: P/1B/OF Micah Holmes; P/1B/OF Peter Valentine; P/2B Mason Montgomery; OF Spenser McNett; C/1B Taber Reid; C/1B Blake Gregg.
How they qualified for state: The Crawfish took the top seed for Area 2 by winning the league tournament, beating the Willoughby Sonics in two straight games.
Season vs. North Coos: The teams did not meet.
Noteworthy: Jake’s Crawfish consists of players from Wilson High School in Portland. The team is making its first trip to the American Legion state tournament, but the high school team was the 2006 state champion.
Willoughby Sonics
Season Record: 11-24
Coach: Robbie Treblehorn
Top Players: 1B Chris Schultz; C Anthony Lopez; OF/P Matt Bushek.
How they qualified for state: The Sonics finished second in the Area 2 tournament, winning their first two games before losing twice in a row to Jake’s Crawfish.
Season vs. North Coos: The teams did not meet.
Noteworthy: The Sonics are a team with players from Franklin High School in Portland and are in the state tournament for the first time since 2001. Because of a restructuring of the school, there are no sophomores on the club, which includes three graduated seniors, but also three eighth graders. The record is deceiving because most of the team’s games have come against Class AAA clubs. |
