Tag Archive for: Baseball

Pacific Little League Ends Lacamas Red’s State Tournament Journey

Reds
Team high-five’s after Dante Humble makes an amazing center field catch.

 

AUBURN, WA — The Lacamas Red All-Star’s ended their state tournament competition Tuesday in a hard-fought battle against Pacific, losing 14-6.

“We knew going in, it would be a tough game,” said Coach Andy Ott. “But the boys played hard.”

Home team Lacamas started with Caden Wengler, who struck out the first batter, but the Lacamas defense made several errors, and gave away three runs in the first inning. The Lacamas offense wasn’t able to respond just yet. Plus, it didn’t help that lead-off batter Dante Humble injured his lower back in warm-ups and was taken out of the lineup.

The Lacamas defense was stronger in the second inning with three up, three down.

The Lacamas bats made a statement in the bottom of two as Jackson Day hit a nice one to right field, but  was fielded out. Drew Ott got a base hit, Kolby Broadbent hit a line drive to center and Jackson Gibbs was walked. With bases loaded, Tyler Forner hit a line drive but Gibbs was forced out at second.

Pacific put one more on the board in the third, and Lacamas responded with some great hits, but just couldn’t get home.

At the top of 4, Jake Blair took the mound and the first batter hit one deep into center field for a double. Blair struck out a batter, but an error at first cost Lacamas another run. Pacific pulled ahead 5-0.

At the bottom of 4, Lacamas had its most powerful inning, giving it all they had in the warm sun. Ott walked, and Gibbs hit a single advancing the lead runner. Humble re-entered the game as Ott and Gibbs stole home. Humble got a base hit, while Wengler ripped it to center for an RBI. Josh Mansur’s single brought in a run and Humble scored on Christian Knuth’s base hit. Jordan Geigenmiller hit a line drive past second base for a single and RBI. Geigenmiller stole second, then Blair walked to load the bases. Lacamas tied up the game, but in doing so, they burned up most of their energy.
Blair
“Jake Blair is a warrior,” said parent Brad Day.
Pacific answered back with another run in the fifth, but Lacamas had some great defensive plays by Knuth, Mansur and Humble (who made an awesome catch in center field).

Lacamas had some great hits at the bottom of the inning, as Humble scored the last run for Lacamas by stealing home.

But Pacific opened it up in the top of six, in part by some great hitting and in part to a comedy of errors by Lacamas. Blair battled on the mound.
“That Jake Blair is a warrior,” said parent Brad Day. “He’s fighting hard.”

Humble made another incredible catch in center field, then Knuth relieved Blair. With one out, Lacamas was behind 9-6, and then Pacific scored two more on infield errors. Blair made an amazing catch. Behind 11-6, Lacamas looked out of gas. Pacific stole home twice, several batters were walked. Knuth struck out the last batter, but the damage was done, as Pacific was ahead 14-6.

Lacamas tried to answer with some great hits, but they were fielded out, and the last batter of the game struck out.

It was a remarkable journey for a talented group of kids who are just that – kids.

“They’re 9 and 10 year-olds and they did a great job,” said Hunter Andrews, a fan. “They played some great baseball and they should be proud of themselves. Especially at Monday’s game against Walla Walla. What a battle!”

Manager Jeff Mansur has a long-term vision for this team in the coming years. He really wants this team to win state and move on to regionals.
He and coach John Blair put together a traveling team that mostly resembled this All-Star team. They won the Bend Elks Tournament during the Memorial Day weekend, with a 6-0 record.

So, for most of these kids and families, winning the District 4 Championship was their second tournament win of the season. Pretty cool!
“We’ve been through a lot together,” said Kris Blair, mother of Jake. “This has been a great experience.”

The families are just now processing the up’s and down’s of state competition. Kris said it felt like they’d been gone a lot longer as so much happened in a condensed timeline.

“It’s an emotional time,” she added. “But it’s so much fun.”

Families were left with a schedule that changed sometimes by the hour, and day’s activities were predicated on wins and losses.

“It was hard to plan,” said parent Chris Wengler. “It’s been exciting and frustrating.”

Coach Andy Ott enjoyed the time but felt the kids didn’t play to their level. He thinks part of it was jitters of playing at state. It’s also a lot for children so young.
Spectator Carole Pleckinger likened the tournament to the following:

“The first day was like a Greek tragedy because they lost so badly,” she said. “Then the second game was the triumphant return, and the third game was the comedy of errors.”

Humble
Dante Humble was injured and removed from the game at the bottom
of the first. He later re-entered the game.
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Lacamas Red All-Stars Team Wins Game 2 at Little League State Competition

AUBURN, WA– Lacamas Red beat Walla Walla 10-9 in game two at the Washington state Little League Tournament of Champions Monday night.
Home team Lacamas started Drew Ott, who pitched well, and the Lacamas defense kept Walla Walla from scoring during the first inning. At the bottom of the first, Dante Humble hit a nice one out to third base, but was fielded out. Caden Wengler lobbed one out to right for a double, while Josh Mansur ripped a single , advancing Wengler to third. Christian Knuth got an RBI, but was fielded out, while Mansur was tagged out at home. Lacamas was up 1-0.At the top of 2, Walla Walla hit a single, but Wengler made an excellent attempt at catching the ball. Ott struck out the next batter, and another was fielded out, but their lead runner tied the game, 1-1. Ott struck out the next batter.

At the bottom of 2, the Lacamas bats really came alive. Jackson Day ripped it to center for a bas e hit, and he was followed by Jake Blair who hit one out to center for a single. Ott had a great hit out to center and advanced the lead runner. Kolby Broadbent bunted, got a base hit and advanced another runner home.  Jackson Gibbs bunted to get bases loaded. Humble hit a single, and Wengler bunted and made it to first. Mansur hit a double with bases loaded, and advanced two more runners, bringing the score to 6-1, Lacamas.

And they kept going.

While Knuth was at bat, Wengler stole home. Knuth made good contact, but was fielded out, and Mansur stole home, giving Lacamas an 8-1 advantage.

At the top of three, Tyler Forner took the mound, and he struggled, walking several batters. One runner was tagged out at home, and another was struck out. The score was 8-3 Lacamas. Blair took the mound, allowed one run and struck out the last batter of the inning.

Lacamas got one more run in the third inning, putting the score at 9-4 Lacamas.

It was the fourth inning that scared Lacamas. Blair hit one batter, and another was walked. Gibbs took the mound, but the defense made too many errors that Walla Walla capitalized on. Their five-run lead quickly evaporated, and the game was tied 9-9. Some great plays by Day and Ott stopped the bleeding.

Jordan Geigenmiller was walked in the bottom of the fourth, and Lacamas had some great hits by Day and Ott, but it wasn’t enough to score.

Mansur closed for Lacamas at the top of the sixth with bases loaded, but was able to hold Walla Walla. He struck out their last batter.

It was Mansur’s turn at bat with a fan base chanting “one!” He got a single, and was advanced by Knuth. Day’s hit advanced Mansur, who got the winning run, much to the relief of coaches and fans. Lacamas Red won 10-9, and advances to the next game, which is Tuesday at 3 against Pacific.

 

Forner on the mound
Tyler Forner pitches for Lacamas Red.

 

National Anthem
Respecting the National Anthem.

 


Hit!
Drew Ott at bat.

Josh Mansur Steals Home
Josh Mansur scores the winning run by sliding home.






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Lacamas Falls to Salmon Creek in First Game at State Little League Tourney

AUBURN, WA — Lacamas Red wasn’t in top form Sunday morning as they faced District 6 (Salmon Creek) in their first competition at the Washington state Little League tournament of champions, and struggled throughout the four-inning game, losing 16-0.

It was a sight the fans weren’t accustomed to, given the team’s 6-0 streak in the District 4 tournament last week, which brought them to state competition in Auburn, WA.

Catcher Dante Humble got it started with visiting Lacamas by walking to first. He was followed by Caden Wengler, Josh Mansur and Christian Knuth, who all struck out.

Lacamas Red’s turn on defense at the bottom of the first set the tone for most of the game. Caden Wengler started for Lacamas and walked the first two batters, while the third batter hit a double, bringing the lead runner home. Salmon Creek’s batters continued hitting into the outfield, and put five on the board until Wengler was relieved.

Forner
Lacamas Red at the Opening Ceremonies of the Little League
Washington state Tournament of Champions on Saturday in Auburn.

 

Humble
Dante Humble was the lead batter at Sunday’s game against Salmon Creek.

Lacamas briefly put Knuth on the mound, and he was followed by Jake Blair. Both walked several batters. The score was 10-0 when Kolby Broadbent was brought to the mound. Lacamas struggled to get the last out, and by the top of the second inning the score was 12-0.

Blair and Drew Ott both hit singles, but it wasn’t enough to score, and Jackson Day and other batters were fielded out. At the bottom of the second, Salmon Creek scored three more. Blair made a good catch in center field to end the inning.

Mansur and Knuth had solid hits at the top of the third, and Humble was walked. Lacamas held Salmon Creek to one run at the bottom of the third. Humble did a great job behind the plate. Ott also made a nice catch.

Forner2
Tyler Forner at the Opening Cermonies.
Mound1
Caden Wengler started for Lacamas on Sunday.

With the 10-run mercy rule, Lacamas had one more chance to fight back at the top of the fourth. Day struck out, Blair hit a nice double, and Ott hit a single. Jordan Geigenmiller hit one out to third but was fielded out. Jackson Gibbs was the last batter and was fielded out.

Following the game, several players sat around contemplating what happened. Several attributed the performance to first-day tournament jitters. Others said they were tired.
Sometimes it’s just how it goes. “That’s baseball,” said one player. “We’ll do better tomorrow.”

Lacamas plays again Monday night at 6 pm.

Gibbs
Jackson Gibbs goes for the bunt.

 

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Lacamas Red All-Star Team Heads to State

Bat bag, check.

Uniform, check.

Winning attitude, check.

RV, check.

After Sunday’s District 4 Championship victory, the Lacamas Red team is boarding the team RV and heading to Auburn, WA, Friday afternoon to represent District 4, and Lacamas Little League, in the State Championship tournament.

Opening ceremonies begins at GSA Park in Auburn on Saturday at 9 am, and the team plays their first game Sunday at 9 am.

The team formed about a month ago, based on voting from managers, coaches, and peers and worked hard during the post-season All-Star tournament, which was held at Evergreen Little League in Brush Prairie. They were undefeated, 6-0.

“We’re the last Lacamas team standing,” said coach John Blair, of the 11-member team. “It’s pretty exciting, and the boys are ready to go. They’re prepared.”

The coaches head up separately, but the team RV, owned and driven by Larry Humble, sets off to Auburn late afternoon Friday.

“We’re looking forward to it,” says Humble. “It’ll be fun.”

Outfielder Jordan Geigenmiller was packed days ago and is ready for action.

“We’re focused, we’re ready, we’re pumped,” he said. “This is going to be a blast!”

The team is managed by Jeff Mansur, and coached by John Blair and Andy Ott.

“We don’t have a weak spot in the lineup,” said Mansur, recently. “These kids make coaching easy.”
Stay tuned for updates.

 

District Winners
The Lacamas Red team after receiving their championship medals.

 

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Central Vancouver Beats Lacamas Majors All-Star’s

Central Vancouver Little League defeated the Lacamas Majors (11-12) All-Star team Thursday on Central’s home turf, 8-3. The Lacamas Majors, who had a good run throughout the tournament, couldn’t stop Central and were behind 8-0 in the top of the fifth.

“They made a good effort at the end to climb back,” said specatator, John Blair. “It’s unfortunate.”

The Lacamas post-season was full of great baseball, with excellent pitching by Michael Kuhlman, Shane Jamison, Brannan Meriwether, Patrick Upkes, Ryan Behnke and others. The team also celebrated numerous homeruns and a grand-slam by Kuhlman.
The team was managed by Joe Gaudio, who has coached at Lacamas Little League for several years. Coaches were Dave Kuhlman and Mike Colvin, who have also coached and umpired for the league for many years.

“We are grateful for the spectacular manner in which these boys represented Lacamas Little League,” said league president, Erin McClanahan. “They played well and should be proud of themselves.”

Central is now the District 4 champion for their age division and head to state competition this on July 21 in Walla Walla, WA.

 

Behnke
Lacamas pitcher Ryan Benhke during the All-Star tournament.

 

 

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Majors (11-12 year-olds) All-Star’s Advance

The Lacamas Majors (11-12 year-old’s) won last night’s semi-finals and will compete in Thursday’s District 4 Championship game against Central Vancouver, at 6 pm, on their home field.

The boys, who are coached by Joe Gaudio and Dave Kuhlman, have had an impressive run in the tournament’s pool play, losing only to Central Vancouver.

The boy’s have been together since mid-June and were voted onto their team by managers, coaches and their peers.

The winner of tonight’s game earns the District 4 championship title and advances to state competition in Walla Walla, WA, which begins July 21.

To learn more about Little League, visit www.littleleague.org

Majors
The Lacamas Majors All-Star’s compete in Thursday’s District Championship
game at Central Vancouver Little League, right behind Ft. Vancouver High.
Photo by Lisa Kuhlman.

 

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Lacamas Red Wins District Championship

The Lacamas Red (9-10 year-old division) won the District 4 Championship game at Evergreen Sunday, 7-4, against East County.

Home team Lacamas kept East County from scoring at the top of the first, and then turned around and put three on the board at the bottom of the inning. Dante Humble got on base and Caden Wengler hit a line drive walk off double and brought Humble home.

Immediately after Josh Mansur hit one over the fence and put two more on the board. By the top of 2, Lacamas was ahead 3-0.

The Lacamas defense showed plenty of strength, and there was excellent fielding by third baseman, Christian Knuth, second baseman Andrew Ott and first baseman Jackson Day. Wengler’s pitching was also solid. And Humble’s catching was superb.

East County scored one the next inning. East County came ready to hit, and they did. They also had some excellent pitching.

East County held Lacamas until the fourth inning, where Jordan Geigenmiller bunted his way to first. Tyler Forner hit a double and advanced Geigenmiller.

Kolby Broadbent walked and bases were loaded. Mansur moved the runners and Geigenmiller scored run No. 4. Knuth hit a single, and Jake Blair hit a double, bringing in three more runs. The score was 7-1 at the bottom of the first.

 

Red
Lacamas Red: District 4 9-10 Year-Old District Champions.

 

Caden
Caden Wengler started for Lacamas Red on Sunday.
Jake Blair
Jake Blair swings.

East County scored three runs in the fifth inning, in part due to Lacamas errors. It gave Lacamas a good scare, but they battled back to shut down East County.

Josh Mansur was brought in to relieve Wengler and he was able to close the game at the bottom of the sixth, winning 7-4.

“It feels good to get the win,” said manager Jeff Mansur. “We’ve all been working hard for this.”

Coach John Blair said: “Isn’t this great? We love this.”

Following the game, Lacamas was presented with medals and their championship banner. And East County, who played a solid game, were presented with their second place medals.

“East County gave us our biggest challenge,” said Andy Ott. “It was a good game.”

The undefeated Lacamas Red team heads to Auburn, Washington, next Saturday for the opening of the Washington state championship.

Mansur
Josh Mansur closed. This is the final pitch of the game.

 

Running
Dante Humble rounds the bases and heads home for the first run of
the District 4 Championship game.

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Youth Baseball: Lacamas Wins vs. Lacamas!

It was inevitable here with youth baseball. Lacamas was going to win today at Evergreen.

The two 9-10 year-old All-Star teams (Red and Black) from Lacamas Little League went head-to-head Saturday with the undefeated Lacamas Red winning the contest, 17-3 in four innings.

Lacamas Red came on strong at the top of the first, scoring seven runs. Lacamas Black responded back with two runs at the bottom of the inning.

Lacamas Red pitched Drew Ott the entire game, while Lacamas Black started with Lucas Barbier and closed with Cameron Smith.

The Lacamas Black team hit well, but the Lacamas Red defense responded in kind. Lacamas Red also had a dominate offense. By the end of the third inning, Lacamas Red had nearly 10-runned Black, and then sealed the deal by the bottom of the fourth.

The Lacamas Red win advances them to the District 4 Championship game on Sunday at 11 against old rival, East County. Elsewhere, the Lacamas Majors 11-12 team beat Fort Vancouver at Central Vancouver, 7-4. Lacamas Majors pitched Patrick Upkes, Wes Colvin, and Shane Jamison.

“We didn’t play that great, though,” said Brannan Meriwether.

The undefeated Lacamas Majors play again Sunday against Central Vancouver.

 

Final
Both 9-10 year-old Lacamas Little League All-Star teams competed on Saturday.

 

Out
Lacamas Black runner AJ Ueber makes it home!
Sanville
Lacamas Black batter Braden Sanville gets ready for a base hit.
Grose
Lacamas Black player Jack Grose at first base.

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2 Lacamas Little League Teams Face Off

BRUSH PRAIRIE – The two 9-10 year-old division Lacamas Little League All-Star teams battle it out Saturday at 10:30 am in the semi-finals at Evergreen Little League.

The Lacamas Black team, managed by Ed Barbier, and the undefeated Lacamas Red team, managed by Jeff Mansur, square off for the first time in this post-season tournament.

“I’m so excited about this,” said Lacamas Little League president, Erin McClanahan. “This will be good baseball to see those two teams play each other.”

The winner advances to the District Championship game on Sunday.

All-Star
Josh Mansur after hitting a homerun earlier this week.

 

Jordan Geigenmiller
Jordan Geigenmiller waits for it.

 

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Cascade Wins 10-11 District Championship; Lacamas Majors 10-11 Team Places 2nd in All-Star Tournament

Cascade Little League’s solid defense and some well-placed hits pushed them to a 6-1 win over the Lacamas Majors 10-11 All-Star team Tuesday night in the District Championship game.

Lacamas made contact with the ball and had some great hits, but couldn’t overcome Cascade’s tight infield. Lacamas also struck out more than usual.

Christian Geigenmiller returned to the mound after being on the injured list from Sunday’s line drive hit to the head. Visiting Lacamas was three up, three down at the top of the first, while Cascade scored three by the bottom of the first inning. The Lacamas defense made some errors, but also fielded two outs at first, and struck out one batter.

The Lacamas bats didn’t get very far, and by the top of the fourth Cascade was ahead 6-0.

The Lacamas bats came alive in the fourth inning, as Carson Williams hit a double and Rylan Marshall hit a single (he also brought Williams home), to make the score 6-1. Grant Heiser also hit a single and advanced Marshall. Jimmy Peebles made good contact.

Williams relieved Geigenmiller after three innings, and closed the game. He struck out several Cascade batters, and the Lacamas defense held them.

Luke Brewer and Josh McPhun hit singles, but weren’t able to advance and score.

“I feel proud of the boys,” said Manager Doug Williams. “They played hard and we had a good run. We only had eight days to gel as a team before the tournament started and we had a good, respective showing.”

Coach Brendan Ford said the tournament was “a lot of fun!”

Grant Heiser said he was glad to be voted onto the team, and looks forward to next year.

 

Cascade LL
Cascade 10-11 year-old team won the District 4 All-Star
Championship Game Tuesday night at Harmony Sports Complex.

 

Christian Geigenmiller Pitches
Christian Geigenmiller returned to the mound Tuesday night.
LacamasBatter
Zach Convey was ready for battle.
TeamTalk
Manager Doug Williams talks to his team following Tuesday’s game.
 So, how did the other Lacamas teams do Tuesday night?

Lacamas 9-10 All-Star Black team lost their first game of the tournament against East County, 17-7. They finish 3-1 in pool play, and will learn if they made the bracket Friday night.

The Cascade/Lacamas Junior Softball lost their first game to East County 14-3. They play again Friday against Evergreen at 8 pm at David Douglas Park.

Lacamas 11-12 All-Star team beat Evergreen, 8-5. They play Cascade Thursday at 6 pm at Central Vancouver Little League. Michael Kuhlman and Shane Jamison both hit homeruns during that contest.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

 

Williams Pitcher
Carson Williams did a great job closing during the championship game.
 
McPhun
Luke Brewer, Jimmy Peebles, Zach Convey and Josh McPhun show off
their 2nd place medals.
 

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