ROSEBURG – The American Legion Single-A state tournament begins Wednesday morning in Central Point and the Pepsi Bottlecaps and Umpqua Lions will both be looking to bring a state championship back to the Umpqua Basin.
This is the fifth straight year that the Pepsi Bottlecaps have reached the tournament and it’s the team’s eighth tournament berth in nine years. For the Umpqua Lions, this is the first trip to the state tournament under their current sponsor, but the Douglas County team last made it as the host team in 2013 when sponsored by Premier Insurance.
The Umpqua Lions begin day one of the tournament with a 9 a.m. first pitch against North Jackson. The Lions won two out of three games against North Jackson early on this year and will try to pull off another victory to stay in the winner’s bracket.
The Bottlecaps, champions of the Area 4 North division, will square off against Area 2 champion North Marion at noon on Wednesday. Head coach Justin O’Byrne says his team is playing some of its best baseball of the season.
Pepsi is aiming to claim its first state title since 2009. The Legion ‘A’ tournament will be played at Anhorn Field in Central Point. The tournament is double elimination style and runs Wednesday through Sunday.
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