Advertisement

Emerald Challengers fall to Portland Barbers in American Legion AAA state championship

edith noriega, eugene register-guard
·2 min read

The Emerald Challengers' baseball season came to an end after a 10-6 loss to the Portland Barbers (39-6) in the Oregon American Legion AAA state championship game at North Eugene High School on Wednesday.

The Challengers swept their way through the tournament, outscoring four opponents 33-17, including a walk-off win on Sunday and a 13-5 win the night before. To win the title, the Challengers would have had to defeat the Barbers once.

The Emerald Challengers fell to the Portland Barbers in the Oregon American Legion Baseball AAA State Tournament on July 26 at Swede Johnson Stadium in Eugene.
The Emerald Challengers fell to the Portland Barbers in the Oregon American Legion Baseball AAA State Tournament on July 26 at Swede Johnson Stadium in Eugene.

Portland Barbers advance to regional tournament

The Barbers' win marked its first American Legion state title in program history. They will now represent Oregon in the northwest regional tournament in Gillette, Wyoming, Aug. 2-6.

Challengers' head coach Kenny Niles said Portland's "got a real shot" as they continue their bid in regionals.

"We've been there and know what it's like," he said. "They got front-end pitching, and they got power arms, so they'll be successful. I think that they have done a better job than they've done in the past of playing team baseball, and I really liked their arms. That's what you need at the regionals. They got four guys that can run it up there into the mid eights, and I think they got a shot to represent our state."

Brock Johnson throws to first base for an out as the Emerald Challengers host the Portland Barbers in the Oregon American Legion Baseball AAA State Tournament on July 26 at Swede Johnson Stadium in Eugene.
Brock Johnson throws to first base for an out as the Emerald Challengers host the Portland Barbers in the Oregon American Legion Baseball AAA State Tournament on July 26 at Swede Johnson Stadium in Eugene.

The Barbers led the Challengers 6-3 through 3-1/2 innings and extended their lead to 10 in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Challengers, however, did cut the deficit to four in the top of the sixth. But it wasn't enough.

"It'll go down as one of the best teams in history," Niles said of the Challengers. "I think we could have solidified ourselves a little bit more with a win, but I was still not disappointed. I told them that I would not be giving my 100% if it was all warm, fuzzy kumbaya. We didn't play well.

A tight first game for Emerald Challengers

Earlier in the day, the Challengers fought hard in game 1 but still trailed the Barbers 4-2 after three innings. The Challengers' Brock Johnson tied the game 4-4 on a two-run RBI single in the bottom of the fourth.

The Barbers and Challengers traded leads in the sixth inning, but the Barbers shocked a packed Swede Johnson Stadium with a two-run home run to seal the 7-6 win in the top of the seventh.

The Challengers finished the season with an overall record of 50-8.

"The kids fought the entire time and today we just kind of ran out of gas," Niles said.

Fans fill the home team side of Swede Johnson Stadium as the Emerald Challengers host the Portland Barbers in the Oregon American Legion Baseball AAA State Tournament on July 26 in Eugene.
Fans fill the home team side of Swede Johnson Stadium as the Emerald Challengers host the Portland Barbers in the Oregon American Legion Baseball AAA State Tournament on July 26 in Eugene.

Edith Noriega is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at ENoriega@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Noriega_Edith.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: American Legion state championship: Emerald Challengers fall