Local Crews Hosting LL Regionals

The Portland area is humming with Little League activity, as Regional tournaments for baseball and softball take place, while the Little League Softball World Series begins preparing to host teams from all over the world in about a week:

1) The Junior Baseball Western Regional is underway in Beaverton, hosted by (Oregon) District 4. Junior BB features 13/14 year olds who play on the 90 foot diamond. After a kick-off barbeque last night, action started this morning with NorCal vs. Arizona at THPRD. The Oregon representative is Murrayhill Little League and features many of the boys from the 2006 Northwest Region champion who played in Williamsport. Keep up with scores here.

2) The Little League Softball Western Regionals are taking place across the River from Portland in Vancouver, Washington. Teams of 11/12 year old girls are vying for a berth to the Softball World Series.

3) (Oregon) District 4 is also the host for the LLSoftball World Series at Alpenrose Stadium in southwest Portland. Beaverton Area LL has already qualified as the host team by winning the District championship Sunday night. The tournament begins August 9.

I'd be happy to post about other regionals taking place around the country -- send me your stories! :)

Congrats to Lake Oswego LL (part 2)!

Is Lake Oswego LL the next Murrayhill?

Lake Oswego was crowned Oregon State Champs yesterday after defeating Pendleton LL 7-0 at the tournament hosted by Lakeside LL in Portland. LO continues the tradition of the District 4 champion taking home the state banner as has happened since 2003.

Lake Oswego LL will travel to San Bernardino to compete in the Northwest Regional, August 4-12.

Baseball is Full of Stories

On our recent road trip south on I-5 from Portland to San Francisco, we stopped at a McDonald's in Cottage Grove. We had rallied early morning and drove awhile before breakfast to get some miles under us. We have stopped at this McDonald's many times before, but it was remodeled! and so deluxe! with comfy chairs and Dippin' Dots! and they put the cream and sweetner in your coffee for you! :) But the best part was the conversation...

A group of retired guys was having their "Friday coffee meeting" in a booth right by the door, just like hundreds of retired guys at restaurants all over the country. Their topics ranged from Dolly Parton ("you know, she is so wonderful and no divorces or drugs...") to baseball. Our ears perked up.

My husband couldn't help himself as we were leaving, "Were you guys talking about the Dodgers? We're Giants fans, so we hate the Dodgers." Good thing this wasn't a gang of Jets or Sharks, or we might have been choreographed to early deaths... The trimmest, tannest man stands up, "yeah, Willie Mays was the best." And the awkward pause turns into a lengthy, friendly discussion. Turns out this nice, knowledgeable fellow is the local high school baseball coach and avid baseball collector. "Hey, you should come by the house and see the old mitts I have." We actually thought about it for a minute. "We'd love to, but we have to hit the road." We exchanged cards -- he doesn't have an email addy, so I doubt he's reading this. Someday soon, we'll call on our way through and check out his collection. What a perfect way to start our break from baseball :)

I was thinking about our new friend this morning when I read this article in the Metro section of the Oregonian newspaper: "Portland's Own Cinderfella Story" He would love to coach these boys, I thought. And what about the guys who does volunteer to take on the "leftovers." No, this isn't a Little League story, but is a baseball story and who else can relate the "leftovers" winning the state tournament? Perfectly appropriate for this time of the summer, as State Tournaments are finishing up and the elite of the elite begin moving on to Regional tournaments...

Back Home & Bloggin'

After a nice trip to northern California for my 20th college reunion, we are back in Portland and ready to ride out the last of the the state LL tournaments and gearing up for Regionals. I was so excited to see that the website for Oregon State Little League has been updated! This site features brackets for all the Oregon tourneys. Here is a link to their website.

You can also follow the Oregon State Majors Baseball tournament on my favorite site.

Congratulations, Lake Oswego LL!

(Oregon) District 4 will send a new champion to the 11/12 State Tournament on Saturday: Lake Oswego LL! Congrats in their win over Tigard LL, who upset defending Northwest Regional Champion, Murrayhill LL on Tuesday night.

Lake Oswego LL will open State at 10am July 21 versus District 2. Here is a link to their site and bracket.

The Beaverton Valley Times has a great recap and photos of the 2007 D4 Tournament in today's edition.

D4 Championship Game: Rained Out

I received word that the (Oregon) District 4 Championship game featuring Tigard LL versus Lake Oswego LL will be played Thursday, July 19, 7pm, Alpenrose main. Tonight's game was rescheduled due to rain.

A Close One and an Upset

What a night of baseball at Alpenrose!

In the first semifinal game of the evening, Lake Oswego LL survived a late rally by SunCreek LL and won 8-6.

And folks, in the second game, Tigard LL defeated Murrayhill LL 7-6! Tigard will play LO for the (Oregon) District 4 Championship!

And this just in: SunCreek LL wins the District 4 Sportsmanship Award!

Who from District 4 will join Bend North (District 5) and South Suburban (District 6) Little Leagues in the 2007 Oregon State Tournament? Head up to Alpenrose at 7pm Wednesday to watch Lake Oswego and Tigard battle to represent District 4 at state July 21-28, hosted by Lakeside LL in District 1.

Pix from D4 Game 17

(Oregon) District 4: Pool Play Concludes

In the last two weeks, we have shuttled to a dozen baseball games, my son's games and his buddies and local kids' playing in JBO and Little League, not to mention a few softball games as well.

Why? Because it's fun.

Last night we got to sit and watch (for free!) a majors tournament game that had kids in both dugouts that play hard, play fair and play well. We saw three homeruns over the fence, a fire-ball thrower, unbelievable defense, and aggressive baserunning. SunCreek LL beat their friends and rivals Hillsboro LL 11-3.

Here is an update on scores from the (Oregon) District 4 Majors BB tournament:

Game 9: Raleigh Hills LL 5, Tigard 12
Game 10: Lake Oswego LL 13, Cedar Mill LL 0
Game 11: Beaverton Area LL 7, Tigard LL 8
Game 12: Cedar Mill LL 9, Raleigh Hills LL 13
Game 13: Lake Oswego LL 4, Raleigh Hills 1
Game 14: SunCreek LL 11, Hillsboro LL 3
Game 15: Wolf Creek LL 1, Murrayhill LL 5
Game 16: Cedar Mill LL vs. Beaverton Area LL

End of Pool Play; Advancing to District 4 Semifinals tonight on Alpenrose Main:

Game 17: Lake Oswego LL (#1 Pool B) vs. SunCreek LL (#2 Pool A), 5pm

Game 18: Tigard LL (#2 Pool B) vs. Murrayhill LL (#1 Pool A), 7:30pm

Game 14 featured just about everything a good Little League game can... SunCreek LL sent Shane to the mound and tight defense behind him (Ben and Jesse making great plays) kept Hillsboro scoreless. SC led off with Tyler who walked, Ben doubled to left center, and Zach doubled to bring home the first two runs. End of 1st inning, SC 2, Hillsboro 0.

Ben and Jesse again fielded hard hits and Shane needed only 8 pitches to end the top of the 2nd inning. In the bottom, Dakota recorded three strikeouts. But Hillsboro got on the board in the top of the third when Kyle walked and Hollin smacked the first over-the-fencer of the night, score 2-2.

Blake led off the SC half by lining a shot to the fence, stealing third and home, and providing the only run, SC 3, Hillsboro 2.

Jake made a great catch of Rich's shot to the centerfield fence to highlight the top of the 4th. Zach added to his RBI total in the bottom of the fourth, when his three-run homer scored Jake and Ben, SC 6, Hillsboro 2.

Joseph's fantastic catch in right field ended a Hillsboro rally with two boys on base. In the bottom of the fifth, SC opened up its lead when Ben's double scored Tyler and Nick. Ben scored on Zach's smash to shortstop, and Blake launched the third over-the-fencer, making the score 11-2.

Ben took the mound in the top of the 6th. After Jack's walk and an error in fielding Rich's grounder, runners were on 2nd and 3rd. Nick flew out, but Jack scored from third. Ben's cut of the incoming throw and quick fire to second base made it a double play. After a strike-out, the game ended 11-3. SunCreek moves out of pool play for the first time in three years!

Oregon District 4: Game 14 Pix

Pix from Saturday at Alpenrose

District 4 Baseball Scores & Updates

Let' get you updated on some scores from the (Oregon) District 4 Majors Baseball tournament:

When: July 12-18
Where: Alpenrose Dairy
Bracket: link

Game 5: Lake Oswego LL 4, Tigard LL 2

Game 6: Raleigh Hills LL 9, Beaverton Area LL 3

Game 7: Hillsboro LL 9, Wolf Creek LL 4

Game 8: Murrayhill LL 11, SunCreek LL 5

Top of 1st, visitors SunCreek LL loaded the bases on singles from Tyler and Ben, but MurrayHill LL held them scoreless after a popup and double play.

MH scored a run in the 1st and 2nd innings, 2-0. In the top of the 3rd, Blake's line drive to the fence scored Jesse and Shane, followed by Zach's two-run blast over the left center wall, bringing the score to SC 4, MH 2.

After two out-of-the-park homeruns in the bottom of the 3rd, SC 4, MH 5.

In the 4th inning, SC was scoreless, while a three-run homer, walks and singles opened the MH lead to 11-4.

Blake's solo homerun and a double play by SC in the 5th inning brought the score to SC 5, MH 11.

SC was unable to score in the top of the sixth inning, ending the game. Next up: SunCreek LL vs. Hillsboro LL, Monday July 16, 5:30 Alpenrose West.

Schedule for Sunday, July 15:

Game 11: Tigard LL vs. Beaverton Area LL, 2pm
Game 12: Cedar Mill LL vs. Raleigh Hills LL, 5pm

(Oregon) District 4 Upcoming Games

The schedule for District 4 Majors baseball at Alpenrose tonight:

Game 5: Tigard LL vs. Lake Oswego LL, 5pm Main Field

Game 6: Beaverton Area LL vs. Raleigh Hills LL, 7:30pm Main Field

Saturday, July 14, all the teams will be back in action (except for BALL), with a full day of games on the Main Field:

Game 7: Wolf Creek LL vs. Hillsboro LL, 11am

Game 8: SunCreek LL vs. Murrayhill LL, 1:30pm

Game 9: Tigard LL vs. Raleigh Hills LL, 4pm

Game 10: Cedar Mill LL vs. Lake Oswego LL, 6:30pm

Pix from D4 Game 1

Oregon District 4 Scores

The District 4 Majors Baseball Tournament kicked off this evening with four games at Alpenrose:

Game 1: SunCreek LL 19, Wolf Creek LL 0

Game 2: Tigard LL 14, Cedar Mill LL 0

Game 3: Lake Oswego LL 10, Beaverton Area LL 0

Game 4: Murrayhill LL 5, Hillsboro LL 4

The games all finished prior to the lightning and rain storm that snuck up on Portland this evening. In fact, my son's JBO District playoff game was suspended when dark clouds quickly blanketed the THPRD Rec Center and lightning was flashing in the sky all around us.

ALSO: In the Championship game of the 9/10 (Oregon) District 4 Baseball tournament, Murrayhill LL beat Lake Oswego LL to advance to the State Tournament.

My Boys' MLB All-Star Road Trip

As I mentioned earlier, my husband and son took off last Sunday on a whirlwind, two-day trip to San Francisco to soak up all they could from the MLB All-Star festivities.

On Sunday, they spent the entire day at FanFest, a three-story mecca of baseball memorabilia, exhibits, batting and pitching cages, and autograph sessions at Moscone Center. They got autograph (on baseballs) from (native Oregonian) Harold Reynolds, Matt Williams, and Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie. They also got autographs from Stacie Pestrak and Jaime Dacey of the Philadelphia Force (National Pro Fastpitch).

Sharon Robinson was giving away copies of her book "Safe at Home," a Scholastic hardcover written for 9-12 year old kids. My copy is inscribed: "To Carrie, we share a love for kids, writing and education. I'm sorry we didn't meet you--Sharon Robinson." This gift was worth way more than the cost of that trip :)

On Monday, they entered AT&T Park early for Workout Day (batting practice) and the HomeRun Derby. Here are some photos. They didn't get a ball, but they were in great seats, eleven rows from the field on the right hand side.

The flew home Tuesday, making it in time for their 6pm game in Beaverton, though they missed the actual All-Star game. But we've been watching (and reliving) the highlights every minute since then...:)

Donations for Fellow Baseball Families

I have received many comments regarding the tragic accident involving a family and players heading to a district baseball tournament in Welches, Oregon.

Here is a link to the boys' baseball association, Tri-County JBO, and information for making monetary donations to the families: http://www.tricountybaseball.org/

I know you are all very busy with your own tournaments and games this time of year, but if you have time to visit a US Bank branch, you can make a contribution to aid the healing of the affected families.

District 4 (Oregon) Baseball Updates

District 4 (Oregon) has its first baseball champion to send to State:

Murrayhill LL beat Lake Oswego LL last evening in the final game of the 10/11 District 4 Tournament at West Union field, 10-5. Murrayhill LL will travel to Gresham for State, July 13, to open play versus District 6.

Tonight, the champion in the 9/10 Baseball Division will be crowned at Westlake Park in Lake Oswego at 7pm: Lake Oswego LL vs. Murrayhill LL

And tomorrow night, after weeks of practice, the Majors Baseball District 4 tournament finally begins at Alpenrose.

District 4 (Oregon) 10/11 Baseball Semi-Finals

Scores tonight from West Union Field:

Murrayhill LL 14, Tigard LL 0

Lake Oswego LL 3, SunCreek LL 1

Tomorrow's Championship game will feature Murrayhill vs. Lake Oswego at 6pm, and the winner will represent District 4 (Oregon) in the State tournament in Gresham!

District 4 (Oregon) Championship Rounds

Pool Play has concluded in the District 4 (Oregon) 9/10 and 10/11 Baseball tournaments, with the following teams now playing in the championship brackets:

10/11 Baseball (West Union field)

Monday, July 9:
Tigard LL vs. Murrayhill LL, 4:30pm
Lake Oswego LL vs. SunCreek LL, 6:30pm

9/10 Baseball (Westlake Park)

Tuesday, July 10:
Beaverton Area LL vs. Murrayhill LL, 5:15pm
Lake Oswego LL vs. Tigard LL, 7:30pm

Winners from each night will play in the District 4 Championship games:

10/11 Baseball Championship: Tuesday, July 10, 6pm, West Union
9/10 Baseball Championship: Wednesday, July 11, 7pm, Westlake

Champions will advance to the State Tournaments:

10/11 Oregon State Baseball Tournament
When: July 13-20, 2007
Where: District 2, Gresham LL, Gresham, Oregon

9/10 Oregon State Baseball Tournament
When: (coming soon)
Where:

Kids...tournaments...cell phones

I cried myself to sleep this morning...

I was up very early to take my son and husband to the Portland airport -- they flew down to the Bay Area to attend the MLB HomeRun Derby and Baseball FanFest in San Francisco, and soak up all their favorite sport has to offer in their favorite city (they were both born there). I traveled back to Washington County quickly, no traffic and with a beautiful summer morning enveloping me as it unfolded over the downtown area. I pulled into our driveway at 5:30am.

The Sunday Oregonian was not even in its tube yet, so I logged into my computer and uploaded a great photo of "my boys" at the airport and sent it to family and friends. "What a treat for them," I thought. It's not like we're big-spending booster, season-ticket-holding, Nike-employed sports jet-setters. We love sports and really had to find a way to work in their two day whirlwind trip to see the events in San Francisco, both financially, and in terms of their own baseball team, the JBO Westview National Wildcats.

I heard the newspaper delivery car swing by our house, walked out and grabbed it, changed back into my pajamas and lay in bed to read and enjoy my peace and quiet. I read the front-page story on the horrific crash on Highway 26, near Sandy, and just started bawling...

"The 8:30 a.m. head-on crash in the rural Cherryville area of Clackamas County killed a mom, her daughter and a family friend on their way to a youth baseball tournament. A man in another vehicle also died. Seven people were injured. "

(link to story on KGW-tv)

They could have been headed to a soccer tournament, or the End of the Trail basketball tournament in Oregon City, but for some reason, "youth baseball tournament" grabbed me by the heart and I lost it... Can you imagine waiting on two late players as your district tournament game was about to begin? What goes through your mind?

All over the country, cars and vans of families and teammates are traveling to baseball and softball tournaments, especially this week. We rush to here and there and fret about equipment and umpire calls and winning/losing and did he pull that pitcher too soon?

Today, let's celebrate the small miracle of kids healthy enough to play ball, arriving safely, and finishing the game and burgers/pizza, and making it home safe and sound. Let's celebrate the small miracle of tournament logistics, all the pieces coming together, the rows of grandparents and neighbors out for the big game, the number of things that must go right when a batter lays down a perfect bunt and the defense shifts, covers the bag, makes the out, or the batter legs it out and moves his/her teammates around the bases...

I woke up at 9:08am today when the phone rang and the caller ID said Jacks cell phone.

"Hi mom! We got in fine and we're on the road, heading up to San Francisco..."


Please take a moment to think about and pray for the North Portland Junior Baseball program, and especially the Brundege and Williams families. And today and everyday, enjoy baseball, enjoy softball, enjoy soccer and basketball and volleyball and gymnastics and cheerleading and band concerts and school plays and spelling bees and Eagle Scout ceremonies and .... your kid's voice on the other end of the phone when it wakes you up from a deep sleep.

Saturday's 9/10 Baseball Scores

Results from the District 4 (Oregon) 9/10 Baseball tournament in Lake Oswego:

Murrayhill LL 7, Raleigh Hills LL 6

Tigard LL 2, Cedar Mill LL 0

And in the final game of the day, Zane Chitwood smacked a single and a double for SunCreek LL, who put up a tremendous effort in their game against Lake Oswego LL, but came up short, 11-8.

Sunday games wrap-up Pool Play, with Tigard LL vs. SunCreek LL (moved to 3pm), and Lake Oswego LL vs. Beaverton Area LL (noon?) at Westlake Park.

Catching Up on 9/10 District 4 Scores

The District 4 (Oregon) 9/10 Baseball tournament continues in Lake Oswego:

Tuesday, July 3rd games:

Raleigh Hills LL 10, Cedar Mill LL 3

Murrayhill LL 14, Tigard LL 3

Thursday, July 5th games:

Murrayhill LL 9, Lake Oswego 2

Beaverton Area LL 8, SunCreek LL 4

Last night's action:

Beaverton Area LL 18, Raleigh Hills 12

Murrayhill LL 17, Cedar Mill 5

Today's games:

Murrayhill vs. Raleigh Hills at 9:30am, Westlake
Tigard vs. Cedar Mill, noon, Westlake
Lake Oswego vs. SunCreek, 2:30 Westlake

More SCENES from West Union

Scenes from West Union

Final scores are in from the District 4 (Oregon) 10/11 Baseball Tournament at West Union field this evening:

Murrayhill LL 10, SunCreek LL 3

Lake Oswego LL 6, Tigard LL 5

Tomorrow's games conclude Pool Play, with SunCreek LL vs. Lake Oswego LL at 10am, and Tigard LL vs. Murrayhill LL at 12:30.

District 4 (Oregon) 10/11 Tournament Update

Tightly contested ballgames were the order of the night as the District 4 (Oregon) 10/11 Tournament kicked off at West Union School.

In the first game, Lake Oswego LL beat Murrayhill LL, coming back in the bottom of the sixth inning, 8-7.

In the second game, SunCreek LL beat Tigard LL in 7 innings on Paul B.'s homerun, 2-1!

Friday's action:

Murrayhill LL vs. SunCreek LL at 4:30pm.

Lake Oswego LL vs. Tigard LL at 6:30pm.

Here is a link to local newspaper coverage.

Since my son had a JBO game (and won!), I was not able to attend any games tonight. I would love to get scores from the 9/10 Baseball Tournament in Lake Oswego and would be happy to post them! You can email or leave a comment (it will be automatically forwarded to me).

Thanks, and good luck to all the teams tomorrow. I will be out at West Union to cover the games in person.

Oregon District 4 Info

Based on the Google traffic I have been getting, many of you are searching for some basic information about the District 4 (Oregon) baseball tournaments:


9/10 Baseball (hosted by Lake Oswego LL)

When: July 2 -11, 2007
Where: Westlake and Waluga (Quarry Road) Parks, Lake Oswego
Bracket: link
Pool Play began Monday night (scores are listed in my Tuesday entry).

10/11 Baseball (hosted by SunCreek LL)

When: July 5-10, 2007
Where: West Union School Fields
Bracket: link
Pool Play begins tonight with Murrayhill LL vs. Lake Oswego LL at 4:30, followed by Tigard LL vs. SunCreek LL at 6:30pm.

11/12 Baseball (hosted by Oregon District 4)

When: July 12-18, 2007
Where: Alpenrose Dairy Stadium
Bracket: link
Pool Play begins Thursday, July 12.

Complete Oregon District 4 SOFTBALL information can be found on my new sister site.

Let the Games Begin (version 07)

Edited to add:

What do All-Star teams do on the 4th of July? Form a parade float, of course!

Here is a shot of the SunCreek LL Majors All-Star team participating in a Bethany-area neighborhood parade:

Is there anything better than a summer night watching LL All-Stars?

In between my son's games this month, we hope to catch tons of Oregon District 4 baseball and some softball action, too.

The 9-10 All-Star Baseball Tournament for District 4 kicked off this evening at Waluga and Westlake Parks in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Here are the first day results:

Cedar Mill LL 13, Beaverton Area LL 4

Tigard LL 6, Lake Oswego LL 0

Raleigh Hills LL 15, SunCreek LL 1

We were there cheering on the SunCreek team and catching up with old friends. Action continues tomorrow when Cedar Mill LL takes on Raleigh Hills LL (5:15pm), and in the second game at Westlake Park, Murrayhill LL will play Tigard LL (7:30pm).

To follow the International Tournament, here is a great website that I highlighted last year. It keeps track of ALL the tournament action for the 11-12 year olds leading up to Williamsport in August! The Oregon District 4 LL tournament begins July 12.