Ready to Conquer the World Series: Centralia 15s Headed to Jamestown

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    Centralia’s 15-year-old All-Stars have plenty to be excited about.

    The team leaves today for a week in Jamestown, N.Y. Most of the players have never been that far east; Chuck McKeever, in particular, is in for a real treat.

    “I’ve never been on a plane before,” said the Hub City’s slugging third-baseman. “Hopefully it’s everything I think it is.

    “But I would like to win the World Series,” he quickly added. “That’s the ultimate goal.”

    Achieving that goal would be the culmination of an anything-but-cruel summer baseball season that’s now overlapping with the Southwest Washington Fair, conflicting with football practice and requiring a 2,500 mile flight. It’s also featured two wins against Babe Ruth rival Hazel Dell Metro, a perfect game from pitcher Derek Putman, an 11-at-bat hitting streak from Ty Housden and a fund-raiser contest featuring Lyle Overbay — who, a week later, signed with Arizona and beat the Phillies at home with a 2-run double.

    Now it all comes to a head in Jamestown, site of the 13-15-year-old Babe Ruth World Series. Centralia, the Pacific Northwest representative, faces off against Southeast rep Sarasota, Fla. at 9:05 a.m. PST on Sunday after a bye on Saturday.

 

Repeat Offenders

    Luckily for the All-Stars, they don’t have to look far to find out what to expect. Centralia advanced to the 13-15 World Series at Longview in 2009, with the same coaching staff — Mike Housden, Mike Stuart and Fred Conradi — and a group of players that, for the most part, will be seniors on the Tiger prep team next spring.

    The 2009 team, of course, hasn’t been stingy with advice.

    “They pretty much told us the atmosphere’s going to be tough,” McKeever said. “We’ll be playing the best teams we’ve seen so far, so it’ll be pretty good baseball.”

    Ty Housden, of course, was at every game in 2009, with his father coaching and his brother, Cole, catching.

    “You can’t really make mistakes,” he said, as to what he learned from 2009. “They’re all good teams. You’ve got to come out and play your best.”

    And, according to first baseman Pat Neely, take advantage of every inning.

    “(They told us) that we’re only going to get this shot once in our lives,” Neely said. “So we’ve got to make the most of it every time we’re on the field. So, that’s going to be fun.”

    The 2009 Centralia team was led by pitchers Andrew Pullin and Mason Musselman, with current Tiger standouts Michael Stuart, Jacob Payne, Cole Housden and Brandon Conradi all on the roster. It finished third, losing to Torrance, Calif., in the semifinals.

    How’s the 2011 model compare?

    “I think we’re pretty similar,” said second baseman Joe Blaser. “They had more big hitters, but we have more consistent hitters.”

    Ty Housden, who has seen both teams up close, thinks the current model may be a bit better.

    “This team has more depth and pitching,” Ty Housden said. “We have more guys that can throw, and we’re more balanced out.”

    Needless to say, the 2011 squad wants to improve on the 2009 team’s finish.

    “We think we’re as good, or better,” McKeever said with a grin. “Our goal is third or higher. Some of them (the 2009 team) have been talking a little smack. It’s a nice competition.”

Quirks

    Like any team of teenagers, the Hub City squad has its superstitions. McKeever starts each game day with a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Ty Housden keeps the same pair of dollar bills in his back pocket and hasn’t given a thought to spending them.

    Blaser has kept a dollar bill in his pocket through most of the season and put on the same socks for every game until he wore holes in them. He and Neely never washed their uniforms after a win, only after a loss or the end of a tournament. Given the team’s 15-1 record this summer, it’s easy to imagine how that’s been on their teammates.

    Above all, though, they’re relaxed and ready to play the final tournament of the year.

    “They’ve played a lot of ball this summer,” Mike Housden said. “Sometimes its hard to keep ‘em completely focused, but they are 15-year-old kids. They had the night off (Tuesday) to go to the fair, and some of them have got football. They’ve played a lot of ball, but we’re hoping when we get back there they’re ready to go again.”

    Ty Housden — who was named MVP of the Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament — leads the team with a .588 batting average over the summer, with McKeever clocking in at .406. Nathan Nokes is hitting .358, while Neely (.346), Blaser (.327) and catcher Baylor Scott (.311) are all above .300.

    The pitching staff is led by Derek Putman, who posted a perfect game in the state semifinals against Kalama-Woodland-Ridgefield-La Center, and Zach Wood, with Maxx Waring, Housden and Blaser all picking up innings as needed.

    The key, according to the coach, is not to worry about who’s in the other dugout.

    “They’re all going to be very good teams,” he said. “There’s going to be some good teams. We’ve just got to worry about ourselves. Our pitchers are going to throw, and we’re going to have to make plays defensively. If we worry about ourselves, and worry about what we’re doing we’ll be fine.”

    Notes: Mike Housden said the players were enjoying the attention they had been receiving over the past week, which included a parade through Centralia on Monday, the Centralia Babe Ruth All-Stars vs. Alumni game last Tuesday, and “tremendous” community support. ... Players are invited to a home run derby on Saturday. ... Games start Saturday at 9:05 a.m. PST at Russell E. Diethrick, Jr., Park in Jamestown. ... North Syracuse, N.Y., defeated Saginaw Valley, Mich., 7-4 in the championship game of the 2010 World Series in Monticello, Ark.



The Field

American Division

Midwest Plains: Waite Park, Minn.

Ohio Valley: Harris, Indiana

Western New York: Valley (Syracuse), N.Y.

Southwest: McComb, Miss.

Pacific Southwest: Tri Valley, Calif.

National Division

Middle Atlantic: Tri-Township, Pa.

New England: Trumbull, Conn.

Southeast: Sarasota, Fla.

Pacific Northwest: Centralia, Wash.

Host: Jamestown, N.Y.

What’s On Tap

Schedule of Events for the 13-15-Year-Old Babe Ruth World Series at Jamestown, N.Y. (All times PST; all games at Diethrick Park)

Friday, Aug. 19

Home Run Derby, 9 a.m., Bergman Park

Banquet of Champions, 3:30 p.m., Jamestown Comm. College

Saturday, Aug. 20

Parade, 6 a.m., Downtown Jamestown

Saturday, Aug. 20

Opening Day, Diethrick Park

Centralia: Bye

Sunday, Aug. 21

Centralia vs. Sarasota, Fla., 9:05 a.m.

Monday, Aug. 22

Centralia vs. Tri-Township, Pa., 9:05 a.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 23

Centralia vs. Jamestown, N.Y., 4:35 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 24

Centralia vs. Trumbull, Conn., 9:05 a.m.