PORTLAND, Ore. — On a weekday evening at Portland’s Franklin High School, the 15-and-under Portland Babe Ruth team wraps up practice for the day. It's an important practice because they're getting ready for the 15U Babe Ruth World Series. A late-inning rally propelled them to victory in the Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament.
"I was nervous, but confident they would make the plays to get us to the World Series," said coach Andre Goodlow.
The regional win was redemption for a loss in the final game when they were 13-year-olds.
"We've been waiting on this for like two years," said pitcher Peter Chan. "We were in the championship and know how it feels to be on the other end."
Chan was on the mound for Portland for the last out.
"Honestly, I was on top of the world," he said. "The next day I was like, 'Is this really happening?'"
The journey to the World Series has been a challenging one, and years in the making. Some of these players have been on the team several years, and are from eight different high schools in and around Portland. They didn't win a lot of games in those first years but they stayed with it.
"It's just a real brotherhood," said pitcher and outfielder Paul Oellrich. "I've known all these kids since I was like eight years old. We've all gotten closer as the years have gone on."
The Babe Ruth organization will pay for part of the trip to the World Series. The team has set up a GoFundMe to help with the costs of the 2,600-mile trip to upstate New York.
Goodlow has also been a part of this program for a long time and knows the players well.
"I'm proud of their accomplishments. I’m more proud of the people they are, the kids that they are, from the classroom to how they conduct themselves in public," Goodlow said. "I think they're great kids and all-around great individuals."
They'll get to display all that starting Aug. 10 at the 15U World Series in Jamestown, New York.
Babe Ruth World Series schedule
- Aug. 10: Teams arrive, check-in-day, experience
- Aug. 11: Opening ceremonies, warm-up games
- Aug. 12: Pool play
- Aug. 13: Pool play, Salute to Service
- Aug. 14-16: Pool play
- Aug. 17-18: Bracket play
- Aug. 19: Championship day
- Aug. 20: Departure day
Portland Roster
- Brave Johnson, INF/RHP
- Bryce Mayo, P/LF
- Carson AnDyke, SS/2B
- Jabril Love-Shabazz, 1B/3B/P
- Jackson De Young, C/1B/3B/OF
- James Gill III, P/1B
- Joaquin Goodlow, IF
- Paul Oellrich, CF/P
- Peter Chan, OF/P
- Roscoe Mithoefer, C/LF
- Santino Flores, C/3B/OF
- Silas Combs, P/UTIL
- Gerson "Skye" Baker Foxley, 2B/3B/SS/P
- Artai Hardnett, OF
- Coach Andre Goodlow
- Coach Craig AnDyke
- Coach Craig Combs