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2023 AAA AMERICAN LEGION STATE CHAMPIONS

Barbers win State, earn regionals bid in Gillette

Beaverton Valley Times

Wade Evanson July 31, 2023

For the first time in team history, the Portland Barbers will be representing Oregon in the American Legion 19U Northwest Regional Tournament.

The Barbers — a team comprised of 19-and-under players from Hillsboro, Aloha, Tigard, Mountainside, Lakeridge and Canby high schools — defeated Eugene’s Emerald Challengers 10-6 in the championship final of the Oregon American Legion AAA state championship game on Wednesday, July 26, at North Eugene High School.

With the win, the Barbers qualified for and will play in the Northwest Regional Tournament, scheduled for Aug. 2 to Aug. 6 at Hladky Memorial Stadium in Gillette, Wyoming.

“It’s awesome,” Barbers head coach and manager Joe Duran said. “Thirteen years running and we finally did it. I can’t believe it.”

Duran — who was a multi-sport standout at Roosevelt High School and later played baseball for Portland State University — helped start the team in 2010 with financial help from Don Lovell, co-owner of The Barbers, as a means of opening and keeping the door open to local kids interested in playing the game, minus the rising cost of club and travel baseball.

“Club baseball has gotten so expensive in the area that we wanted to start something affordable and competitive,” he said. “We wanted kids to be able to play and compete without those rising costs.”

Since, the team has earned a place in the state tournament every year and three times played their way into the state final, losing all three years to the state power Medford Mustangs.

This year, however, they defeated those same Mustangs in the tournament’s second round before ultimately defeating Eugene twice to earn their way to regionals.

Over the last decade, Duran said his teams have often been defined by power, both at the plate and on the mound. But this season, the veteran coach said they’re doing things a little differently, and that difference hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“We’ve always had really good pitching depth, and we do again this year, but this team is built different,” the coach said. “I had an opposing coach tell me that he’s used to the Barbers being big and physical offensive teams, but that this year, it’s like more of a team. We’re a fast, hard-nosed team with good chemistry. Everyone knows their role, and everyone contributes when called upon.”

Of those contributors, Duran said Eric Altmark — formerly of Mountainside — is the team leader both on and off the field, but he added that Hillsboro High School pitcher Jackson Price, Mountainside pitcher and infielder Austin Wolfe, and Wells’ pitcher and first baseman Griffin Scott — among others — key a lineup littered with valuable contributors on the field, mound and at the plate.

“At state, our 9-1-2-3-4 hitters got on base 62 percent of the time,” Duran said. “So, our top half of the lineup is really special.”

Players earn their way onto the Barbers team by way of tryouts in May.

American Legion baseball works in a way that allows teams to stem from a specific high school, and if players live within a designated perimeter of that school and the enrollment of the schools in that perimeter don’t exceed a predetermined number, kids are eligible to try out for that team.

Duran said he loves the format, and it’s that love coupled with an equal love for baseball that continues to bring him back.

“I love the game, love American Legion, and just love competitive baseball,” the coach said. “I enjoy it more than anything and look forward to it all year. It’s my passion.”

And thanks to last week’s state title, this year’s not over yet. Duran and his team left Monday morning for Wyoming and will endure a flight to Seattle, another to Billings, Montana, then a three-hour bus ride to Gillette before taking the field Wednesday, Aug. 2.

But the coach said it’ll be worth it when they get there, and said too that he believes they have a chance when they do.

“We won every tournament but one that we played in this year, including the Northwest Diamond Series tournament and Lakeside Recovery (Washington’ state champion) was in that,” Duran said. “We won that tournament, so we can compete with anybody.”

Members of the Portland Barbers include: Eric Altmark, Buddy Brands, Luke Brooks, J.D. Cannon, Gunnar Gustafson, Jonah Hergert, Kellen Hicks, Alex Ingalls, Kevin Leeds, Cameron Masters, Jayden Nakamura, Jason Noffsinger, Jackson Price, Hunter Robinson, Logan Robinson, Ian Salbeda, Griffin Scott, Tristan Seber, Cooper Smith, Owen Tilden, Austin Wolfe.