Loud and proud Camas-Washougal bound for New York

All of that energy was rewarded with a dramatic rally and nine-inning win that earned Camas-Washougal its first Southern Washington Babe Ruth title in any age division. The Southern Washington tournament was first held in 1988.

Noise from the dugout helped again on Sunday when the team from Twin Cities — the same team Camas-Washougal rallied to beat in the state tournament — jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the semifinals at the Pacific Northwest Regional. Camas-Washougal rallied to win that game 10-4, then beat East Boise 11-6 in the regional championship game.

“Our bench is key,” Kolby Broadbent said. “The way the players who aren’t playing pick us up is a big part of it.”

Manager Bob Gibbs said he could sense the chemistry building from the first practice with all-stars from the four teams in Camas-Washougal.

“New friendships developed quickly. It was neat to see,” Gibbs said.

Also neat to see was the pitching Camas-Washougal received from the start of the regional tournament. Gibbs said he didn’t need to use as many pitchers as he expected, noting that several pitchers who were key to the Southern Washington title didn’t need to pitch at regionals, where Camas-Washougal went 6-0.

The regional title comes in the year that the home of Camas-Washougal Babe Ruth, Louis Bloch Park, celebrated 75 years with new lights and a new scoreboard — signs of revitalization for a league that just three years ago had only three teams. This year, Camas-Washougal Babe Ruth had 11 teams — four in the 13-year-old division and seven in the 14-15 age group.

For Jaycop Collins, in his third year as the president of Camas-Washougal Babe Ruth Baseball, a World Series berth is a wonderful surprise. He played in the league in the 1990s and said his mission is to help players have as much fun as he did playing at Louis Bloch Park.

The thrill of a World Series berth is a bonus for the 14 players and three coaches who will head to western New York in August. They will head there with plenty of confidence, loud and proud.

“I see us winning it,” Broadbent said. “I see this as a big opportunity to represent Camas, and the whole state of Washington.”

Camas-Washougal Babe Ruth 13-year-old All-Stars

Champions: Southern Washington Babe Ruth and Pacific Northwest Babe Ruth.

Babe Ruth 13-year-olds World Series: Aug. 15-22 at Jamestown, N.Y. Camas-Washougal plays its first game on Aug. 16.

The team: Blake Asciutto, Kolby Broadbent, Tyler Forner, Jackson Gibbs, Drew Ott, Riley Sinclair, Keegan Amberg, Beau Kearsey, Logan Kearsey, Evan Stott, Michael Whitney, Tyler Egan, Gideon Malychewski, and Kolton Andrews. The coaches: Bob Gibbs, Andrew Ott, and Kent Broadbent.

Babe Ruth Baseball pays for the airfare for the players and the coaches for teams that qualify for its World Series. It also pays for the lodging of coaches. To help cover players lodging and other expenses, the team has set up a GoFundMe account: http://www.gofundme.com/g8d59xnag.