BABE RUTH STATE TOURNEYS START THURSDAY

For the second time in three years, Astoria will host a Babe Ruth state tournament with eight teams playing for one berth to regionals in the North Oregon 14-year-old State Tournament starting Thursday.

Astoria will play the final game of an opening day quadrupleheader at Aiken Field, taking on Harney-Grant, a team based in Burns. Friday, Astoria faces The Dalles at 4:00 p.m. and Saturday's final pool game will be against Pendleton at 7:00 p.m.

The tournament opens at 10:00 a.m. Thursday with S.E. Portland taking on Tri-County (Heppner). The Dalles and Pendleton square off at 1:00 p.m. followed by Beaverton against SRV Nationals (Ontario). Pool play continues with four games Friday and four more on Saturday before the crossover quarterfinal elimination games on Sunday. Monday's semifinals will be at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. with the consolation game at 4 and championship at 7:00 p.m.

The tournament champion will advance to regionals, hosted by Umpqua Valley, which is based east of Roseburg in the Glide area. Astoria's 14-year-old All-stars advanced to regionals the last two years as 13 and 12-year-old tournament teams, getting to the final four each year.

For the second time in three years, Astoria will send all three of its Babe Ruth All-star teams to the state tournament (Snake River Valley is the only other organization with all three teams at state). All three tournaments begin tomorrow. Here are the schedules for the three North Oregon Babe Ruth State Tournaments:

15-YEAR-OLD TOURNAMENT at Optimist Field in LaGrande
Thursday
Astoria vs. The Dalles, 10:00 a.m.
S.E. Portland vs. Clackamas, 1:00 p.m.
Blue Mountain vs. SRV Nationals, 4:00 p.m.
Pendleton vs. Union County, 7:00 p.m.
Friday
The Dalles vs. Blue Mountain, 10:00 a.m.
Pendleton vs. Clackamas, 1:00 p.m.
S.E. Portland vs. Union County, 4:00 p.m.
Astoria vs. SRV Nationals, 7:00 p.m.
em>Saturday
Pendleton vs. S.E. Portland, 10:00 a.m.
Astoria vs. Blue Mountain, 1:00 p.m.
The Dalles vs. SRV Nationals, 4:00 p.m.
Clackamas vs. Union County, 7:00 p.m.

14-YEAR-OLD TOURNAMENT at Aiken Field in Astoria
Thursday
S.E. Portland vs. Tri-County, 10:00 a.m.
The Dalles vs. Pendleton, 1:00 p.m.
Beaverton vs. SRV Nationals, 4:00 p.m.
Astoria vs. Harney-Grant, 7:00 p.m.
Friday
Tri-County vs. SRV Nationals, 10:00 a.m.
Pendleton vs. Harney-Grant, 1:00 p.m.
Astoria vs. The Dalles, 4:00 p.m.
Beaverton vs. S.E. Portland, 7:00 p.m.
em>Saturday
The Dalles vs. Harney-Grant, 10:00 a.m.
S.E. Portland vs. SRV Nationals, 1:00 p.m.
Beaverton vs. Tri-County, 4:00 p.m.
Astoria vs. Pendleton, 7:00 p.m.

13-YEAR-OLD TOURNAMENT at Elks Memorial Field in Ontario
Thursday
Astoria vs. Tri-County, 10:00 a.m.
Hermiston vs. Beaverton, 1:00 p.m.
Union County vs. Baker City, 4:00 p.m.
The Dalles vs. SRV Nationals, 7:00 p.m.
Friday
Tri-County vs. Union County, 10:00 a.m.
Hermiston vs. The Dalles, 1:00 p.m.
Astoria vs. Baker City, 4:00 p.m.
Beaverton vs. SRV Nationals, 7:00 p.m.
em>Saturday
The Dalles vs. Beaverton, 10:00 a.m.
Astoria vs. Union County, 1:00 p.m.
Baker City vs. Tri-County, 4:00 p.m.
Hermiston vs. SRV Nationals, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday
Quarterfinal games at 10/1/4/7-teams seeded from two pools of four
Monday
Semifinals at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., Consolation game at 4 and Championship at 7