Little League World Series: Something special going on in Tigard | Community Spirit

TIGARD, Ore. -- Nestled away in a deep corner of the athletic complex at Tigard High School, there was something special going on.

While the staple fall sports -- cross country, soccer and football -- were being practiced by hundreds of boys and girls of various ages, 11 pre-teen girls were running sprints down the first and third base lines, trying to lay down 11 consecutive bunts and working on their fielding skills on a dusty softball diamond.

For most of the past two months, practice is all the Oregon District 4 team -- the group of Tigard girls ages 11-12 who will play its opening game of the Little League World Series at 5 p.m. Thursday at Alpenrose Dairy in Portland -- has done. The squad is one of the last youth softball teams playing in the state, as it sees its season stretch from a hot mid-summer season into a warm late summer affair.

"So it's not really softball season," said first baseman and catcher Ramsey Hare as she laughed. "So you see everyone else and then you see us playing softball. They probably think something special is going on over here."

Special just might be the proper word. Most of the team has been together for quite awhile -- nine months, which is an eternity for most young girls. The squad, highlighted with player nicknames such as Slugger (Hare), Pockets (Tanna Baggenstos), Smiley (Katy Warren), Ichiro (Dena Emmons), AK21 (Alexa Kaplan), Ham Sandwich (Johnna Malafouris) and Money (Alyssa Overcash), formed after the Tigard Little League season ended, the time that all-star teams from around the state were formed. The 11 players on the new team have been playing together regularly for the last two months, but most had been playing on the ASA 12B team since February.

"So for the most part, this team has been together about nine months," said the team's coach Gerry Baggenstos, who was running Monday's practice in place of team manager Derek Heyden, who had another committment. "So, it's been a long haul."

Approximately three weeks ago, the squad played in its district tournament at Alpenrose, where it played four games, culminating with a crushing 18-0 win against Tualatin in the tournament title game. The win earned the team the berth into the Little League World Series, which runs from Aug. 12-18. Due to a litany of rules in Little League, those four games were the only games the team has played together since forming in June.

"We've had a lot of practice -- a lot of practice time," Baggenstos said.

The players were in agreement about all the practice time, but they didn't seem to mind.

"No, because it's getting us ready for the games," said Emilee Heyden, a first baseman and catcher, said. "It's good, but you definitely get a workout."

While teammates and coaches hope all the practice pays off at the upcoming tournament, the team has already had a modicum of success on the diamond. Prior to winning the ASA 12B state title this past spring at Wallace Marine Park in Salem, the same group scored the all-stars state title for the 9-10 age group in Baker City. Now the group is stepping into the international arena of play.

"This is a pretty big deal for us," Baggenstos said. "They've experienced some championship ball, for sure, though."

The team will need to utilize all of that championship experience when it opens pool play Thursday because the squad will face the Warner Robins American Little League team from the Southeast Region. The Georgia-based team is the defending Little League World Series Champion.

Georgia returns five players from last season's championship team.

"That's a big test for us," Baggenstos said.

Baggenstos said it's not surprising to face Georgia to open the tourney.

"We're going to face whoever we're going to face," Baggenstos said. "It doesn't matter. It's not like we're not going to see them along the way anyway. We don't to hide from them."

No matter the outcome of the game or the tournament, the goal for the Tigard team is simple.
 
"To do good," said Warren, a left fielder and pitcher.

But it's more than that. Players say they not only want to fare well at the tournament, but having fun and playing hard almost supersedes the win/loss aspect of the tournament.

"We're out there to have fun and enjoy the experience because this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Hare said.

While the team's strengths of defense, bunting and execution plays might carry the team deep into the tournament, those skills might not be the biggest strengths the squad possesses.

"We're all family, pretty much," Heyden said. "We're always together and we just support each other and the support really goes far."

Hare then finished Heyden's thoughts.

"But sometimes we have our ups and downs," she said. "Like if we're upset, sometimes we get on each other and then we try to pick each other up."

That seems pretty special.