Roosters clinch Babe Ruth state championship

Assembling this team of athletes from rival high schools would not be possible if they didn’t love baseball.

“We’ve been on the same team for like three or four years,” said Irving Alvarez of La Center. “We don’t call it a team, we call it a family because that’s what we are.”

“We give up our whole summer to play this, but we have a lot of heart and a lot of love for the game,” added Aiden Hundt of Ridgefield. “I’ve been playing baseball since February and I don’t want to stop. I want to try and win a World Series this year.”

The Kalama, Woodland, Ridgefield and La Center Babe Ruth 15-year-old all-star team plays the Alberta, Canada, all-stars at 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 25 in the Pacific Northwest regional tournament at David Douglas High School in Portland, Oregon. 

“This is a good baseball team. These guys battle. They don’t hang their heads and quit. They don’t complain. They don’t fight amongst themselves. They’re teammates. Everybody knows they have a specific role,” said manager David Cheeks. “What they have bought into is, when the opportunity arises, they step up to the plate and get the job done. They have done that all summer, so I’m really proud of this group.”

Wednesday is the second of four pool-play rounds for an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Babe Ruth World Series Aug. 9-16 in Longview. The Roosters played their first game Monday, but the score was not available by print deadline. The regional semifinal games are at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday. The winners advance to the championship game at 5 p.m. Saturday. Only the champion gets to go to the World Series.

“I just want these boys to represent themselves, their family, their team and their community,” Cheeks said. “We’ve got great parental support that keeps this team running. Let’s give them a good show.”

The KWLR Roosters captured the 15-year-old Babe Ruth state championship July 15 at La Center High School. After losing 4-1 to Camas-Washougal, the Roosters got right back out on the diamond and beat Camas-Washougal 8-1 to become champions.

“They had the heart. They knew they had to win to keep going,” Alvarez said. “We didn’t do our best in that first game. I felt like we thought we were going to win easily. No, that’s not the case. When we played the second game, that’s when we got loud. We knew it was now or never.”

Alvarez pitched 5 2/3 innings of two-hit baseball and struck out 12 batters. 

“I was just trying to get to regionals, trying to keep this team going,” he said. “Composure, I think, is the best thing to have in a game. If you don’t keep it, you lose it all.”

Caden McCray and Devyn Turner pitched the Roosters out of bases loaded threats to secure the victory for Alvarez. Turner will never forget striking out the last batter with a curveball.

“It felt great having my teammates there to celebrate with,” he said. “Our saying is, dig a hole and keep digging so they can’t get out. We’re all out here working hard every day so we can put more runs on the scoreboard and make it harder for them to dig out.”

The Roosters 10-runned Grey’s Harbor 11-1 in the semifinals July 14. Derek Kropp pitched a complete game 1-hitter with nine strikeouts. Alvarez and Easton Ortega led the Roosters with three hits each, and Turner drove in two runs on two hits.

The Roosters defeated Camas-Washougal 12-5 in the quarterfinals July 13. Alvarez and Reitzenstein reached base three times, and scored on hits by Hundt. Reitzenstein pitched the first four innings and Alvarez collected six strikeouts in relief.

These boys are all dreaming about playing in the Babe Ruth World Series. Whether they win or lose, they still get to play baseball. To them, there’s not a better way to spend their summer.

“Even if we don’t make it all the way, we’re still a team and we’re still a family,” Turner said. “We’ll always be there for each other, no matter what.”