NORTH BEND — The group of ballplayers standing in Vic Adams Field in North Bend Thursday afternoon came from all over the Bay Area and beyond: Coos Bay, North Bend, Myrtle Point, Powers and Coquille.

But you wouldn’t know it from looking at these members of the American Legion North Coos Waterfront, as they wore matching blue “Bay Area Baseball” T-shirts and joked around like they grew up next door to each other.

That meshing of talent from around the region is part of the beauty of American Legion baseball. But it also means that players are thrown together and expected to quickly become a functioning unit, often playing different positions than they’re used to.

That’s not always easy.

“It was kind of strange at first,” said Waterfront pitcher Jesse McClintock of Marshfield High School. “But now we’ve bonded. We’re a team.”

“We’ve just try to make the best team we can have,” added Skyler Walton, who hails from North Bend.

While North Coos’ chemistry has ebbed and flowed throughout the season — the ballclub went through a vicious late-season slump — it looks to have returned at a good time. The Waterfront has won five straight games to finish out at 24-17 heading into today’s Legion A State Tournament at Clyde Allen Field in North Bend, to which the team received an automatic berth as its host.

The word on Thursday afternoon was that the teams to beat this year are the Ashland Pilots and the North Medford Mavericks.

North Coos does have a trump card, however — Clyde Allen Field, with its unpredictable winds that can turn a home run into a pop fly and vice versa. Suffice it to say playing at Clyde Allen takes some getting used to.

“The wind is a huge advantage,” said McClintock.

That advantage has had tangible results for North Coos this year. The Waterfront was swept  in a doubleheader on the road by North Medford in June, for example, but then swept the Mavericks at home on July 22. Against Ashland, North Coos was first swept in Ashland by a combined 22 runs in two games July 2. But North Coos swept the North Bend doubleheader just four days later.

Aside from the crazy crossbreezes of Clyde Allen field, said North Coos Waterfront coach Brad Horning, there are also the more standard advantages to being the home team.

“Most coaches would agree there’s just something to sleeping in your own bed,” he said.

Still, on Thursday the players understood that home-field advantage alone won’t be enough — they’re going to have to play their best ball of the season to get anywhere against a tough field of opponents.

“We’re going to have to hit the ball,” said utility player Jake Stevens, who lives in Powers.

“Finishing (the season) hot was big,” said McClintock a moment later. “But these are some pretty tough teams.”

The Waterfront’s pitching will have to be good, starting with No. 1 ace Bryce Weidman of North Bend.

“I feel good. I’m feeling strong from pitching so much,” said Weidman on Thursday. Then, with a laugh he added, “Especially because of the alumni game yesterday. I struck out (coach) Horning.”

Weidman’s also been a terror from the plate, emerging as one of the Waterfront’s more dangerous offensive threats — even more so at home, if his teammates are to be believed.

“This kid’s pretty good at getting the ball up in the jet stream and hitting it out of the park,” half-joked Stevens, as he pointed at Weidman.

Horning said the team will rely heavily on shortstop Andrew Slack, of North Bend, for offense as well.

“He just does a good job of scoring runs for us,” said Horning.

Catcher Dalton Iveans has been hitting the ball well too, and the Waterfront also will look for offense from Stevens, McClintock and Walton.

“We’ve been waiting for this team to explode offensively,” said Horning.

North Coos also has the bonus of experience: McClintock, Slack, Stevens, Walton, Weidman, Bruce Ohlrich and Geoff Van Pulliam all are returners from last year’s team that went to the state tournament.

“It’s good to be in it two years in a row,” said Weidman. “We have a lot of kids coming back who know what it’s like. We’ll be better prepared.”

Aside from Ashland and North Medford, North Coos has only met Roseburg Pepsi during the season in home and away doubleheaders.

Those twin bills resulted in a sweep at Roseburg and a split at home. The other teams — The Grants Pass Miners, Pendleton Merchants and Jake’s Crawfish and the Willoughby Sonics out of Portland — are largely a mystery to the Waterfront.

North Coos opens the tourney today at 6 p.m. against the Willoughby Sonics, which pulls its players from Franklin High School.

Weidman will pitch the game, with McClintock slated to pitch the second game. There’s no guarantee of a third game.

Horning said he thinks its anybody’s tournament.

“I think every team here feels like they can play with every other team here,” he said. “I think there’s going to be eight teams who have a heck of a time. And one of them’s going to come away with a trophy.”

 

Sports Writer Joe Hansen can be reached by calling 269-1222, ext. 238, or by e-mailing jhansen@theworldlink.com.