2008 Junior State Baseball Weekend

July 27, 2008

Today marked the end of the summer season for Oregon’s Division II Junior State Baseball Teams as the Championship Tournament was held this weekend in Canby, Oregon. Jacob’s team was sponsored by Clint Newell Auto Group in Roseburg and they were coached by Al Skinner of Glide High School’s Varsity Baseball Team. The team consisted of 14 boys ranging in age from 13 to 15 years old.

The Clint Newell Cruisers baseball team was put together in mid June after a couple of days of tryouts and Al Skinner did a great job with the boys. They traveled up and down the Interstate 5 corridor to play teams from the southern Willamette Valley to the Medford area. Thanks to Clint Newell and his generous sponsorship of a 15 passenger van, the Cruisers were able to travel together whether or not parents could make the game.

The Cruisers managed to do very well and were granted a slot in the double elimination Championship Tournament. Their first game was on Thursday ( July 24, 2008 ) against Eagle Point. The Cruisers beat them 18-3 and advanced in the winners bracket to Friday’s game against Oregon City. That game tested the Cruisers by forcing them to play tough and come from behind in the bottom of the last inning to win 7-6. Again the Cruisers were able to advance to the next game which was the semi-final match-up with the home team Canby.

The Canby team was tough and it was a slug fest which found the Cruisers playing catch up the entire game however, they couldn’t pull it off and lost the game 10-13. It was a heart-breaker as the team felt they were a good opponent but, beatable. Oh well, that’s baseball. The loss bumped the team out of the championship game and put the Cruisers into a playoff game for third place against North Eugene.

Unlike the Canby game, this final game found the bats very quiet on both sides however, one team was held to no runs and the final score was 2-0 with a third place trophy and medals going to the Cruisers!

It was a very fun weekend with lots of good food in between games. While in the Portland area, we pigged-out on good local Hawaiian food on Friday night at the Bamboo Grove restaurant. Whoa, the kal-bi ribs were killer (made Maui Azeka Store style) and of course the kalua pig, teri chicken, namasu, etc. was all broke-da-mout good. We even had a plate of ahi poke with sweet onions…mmmm. On Saturday we caught a couple of hours at the Hoike Celebration in downtown Vancouver, WA. It was crazy with long lines for all the ono food and some said they waited 2hrs for shave ice! Of course, everything was Hawaiian time so, you had to wait as people in the booth talked story, hugged and kissed with others, etc. Meanwhile, the stage had some good live music by a variety of Hawaiian musicians and dancers. On Sunday, we snuck down to the small Chinatown in downtown Portland and had a wonderful dim sum lunch at Fong Chong’s before the last game on Sunday. That was a good ono weekend of food and sports with family and friends.

Chasing a hard white ball around the state has been lots of fun this past year and it’s brought us closer to the teammates and their supportive parents and gotten us to some pretty good eats around the state. Most of all, it’s brought us together with friends we don’t always get to see. Thanks Hotel Chang for taking such good care of us over the weekend and the warm hospitality whenever we stay with you guyz. Thanks Bitsy and Lorri for taking the time to show us around and catch some good grinds while in the big city!

The Clint Newell Cruisers with their 3rd Place Division II Junior State Trophy

Al Skinner and Clint Newell

Jacob with his 3rd Place medal

Serious Medium-Sized Dinners at Bamboo Grove

Enjoying the music at the Vancouver Hoike Festival

Long lines waiting for food. Amazing to see all these islanders coming out of the woodwork!

Hapa Comes To Town

July 11, 2008

During the summer months the towns of Roseburg and Winston host a number of weekly outdoor musical attractions that are free to the public. Each week finds folks bringing their folding chairs or laying down a blanket on the grass and enjoying the lazy summer sunlight listening to a wide variety of musicians while drinking their favorite beverage. These events are made possible by a number of local businesses that sponsor the events and get some great talent to visit our small corner of the world. Tonight was a very special treat as the group that came to visit us was Hawaii’s own…Hapa! Lots of islanders came out of the woods for this concert and were treated to a great show!

The last time we heard these guys was up close and personal at Bitsy Kelley’s big 4-0 birthday. We were invited to her party in Aurora, OR and we had just relocated from Hawaii to Roseburg within the past few months. We knew her party was gonna have choke good local food so there was no question us locals were going. When we pulled into the driveway and parked, we could hear live music coming from the back of the house as guitars were being tuned. We thought, this is gonna be cool. When we got inside we found out the guys tuning the guitars were Barry Flannigan and Nathan Aweau, da bruddahs from Hapa, and they were gonna be in our faces on the back deck of the house! Oh Wow Laulau! (Funny how we had to move 2500 miles away from home to hear Hapa up close and personal).

Jacob and Jessie listening to Hapa at Bitsy’s Birthday Party

The food was ono stuff catered from Noho’s Hawaiian Style Cafe (another Kalani High grad) in Portland and it was extra good eating the food and listening to Hapa. It was a chilly afternoon and there was a heater on the deck placed directly in front of the entertainers who were dressed with stocking caps on their heads. Between songs, Nathan asked the crowd of islander ex-pats, “So, why you guyz live up hea?” A person from the crowd grabbed the platter of sashimi and said, “Look brah, no flies…” It was hysterical and apparently it made an impression on the musical duo.

After the concert in Winston, we met up with Barry and he remembered us from Bitsy’s party. Only this time, he was in shorts and an aloha shirt. It’s just a guess but, I think he would rather play during Oregon’s summer concert weather. Those boys can jam!