Challengers relish opportunity as tourney host.

Byline: Paula Lincoln The Register-Guard

AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL 

It's been three years since the Bi-Mart Challengers AAA American Legion baseball team competed in the state tournament and seven since the Eugene-based team won a state title to advance to the regional tournament.

Chris Rice, Jon Keller and Shawn Peterson hope to change that.

Rice, of Elmira, and Keller and Peterson, both of North Eugene, are in their third year on the team and will play key roles when the Challengers play host to this week's state tournament at Swede Johnson Stadium in Eugene.

The Challengers finished third (7-9) in their league behind Medford (13-3) and Grants Pass (10-6) before losing a best-of-three area playoff to Salem Post 9, but as the host team, they had an automatic berth in the eight-team tournament.

`It's real important to a lot of us who've never had the chance to play in a state tournament, (but) there's a lot of pressure being the host team,' Keller said.

`If we play to our full potential, I can see us easily taking it and then advancing to regionals,' said Rice, agreeing that there is pressure on the Challengers to prove they belong in the tournament.

A lot will be riding on Rice's shoulders - or more specifically, his right arm - when the Challengers (37-26) take the field for the tournament that begins Wednesday.

And the 2006 Elmira High School graduate wouldn't have it any other way.

`I can get up on the (pitcher's) mound and forget about everything else. I'm in control of the game,' said Rice, who has given up 48 hits in 50 innings with 56 strikeouts and 12 walks.

Rice, who has a team-low 1.68 ERA and is 5-3 on the year, is expected to be the starter when Eugene takes on the East County Knights of Portland in Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. first-round game.

`He's been our No. 1 or No. 2 pitcher all year long. He volunteers to throw against the other team's best pitcher in the first game when he obviously knows it's not his best chance to get a win,' coach Cory Nicholsen said.

Rice, who relies on an 85 mph fastball and an above-average curveball, plans to play baseball at Chemeketa Community College with the hope of transferring to Oregon State and eventually getting drafted.

He said the Beavers' success has given local ballplayers hope and has shown that Northwest athletes can play baseball just as well as their southern counterparts.

`I think it gives us hope, because Oregon is not really known for baseball. But what Pat Casey has done has opened our eyes and showed us we can do it too, and it's possible to go to the next level,' Rice said.

Keller, who is 8-3 with a team-high 95 strikeouts in 66 innings and has a second-best ERA of 2.12, is expected to be the second-day starter. He's allowed 61 hits and 19 walks while relying on a fastball, curveball and changeup. When he's not pitching, he'll play first base.

During the Legion regular season, the left-handed Keller hit .338 and was tied with J.J. Mascolo for most home runs with four apiece. He'll probably hit in the No. 5 spot.

`He's pretty consistent and he drives in a lot of runs. He doesn't throw as hard as Rice, but he has good movement on his fastball,' Nicholsen said of Keller, who will play baseball at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario.

Rice said pitching and defense have kept the Challengers in most of their games this season and that one of the reasons they have played so well on defense is that the team chemistry is better than it's been the past several years.

`Everybody connected on a deeper level this year. We're more than teammates. We're like brothers,' Rice said.

Keller said the Challengers' hitting will need to be more consistent for the team to be successful at state.

`We need to keep our bats up, keep making a lot of hits, get runners on base,' said Keller, who hopes to play Division I college baseball.

Peterson, who is in his final season as a Challenger, will start at third base and is projected to hit cleanup.

`I like playing third base," Peterson said. "I get a lot of balls that are hit hard and it's a key position. You've got to be tough to play there.

The four-year varsity starter at North was hitting .369 this summer and had a second-best 40 RBIs and 18 extra-base hits.

`He doesn't hit a lot of home runs, but he's been pretty consistent," Nicholsen said. "He'll do anything you ask him to do. And he listens. Sometimes too well. He'll cut me off when I'm talking because he knows just what I'm going to say. He's a great team leader. The kids have a lot of respect for him."

Peterson will play collegiately at Lower Columbia in Longview, Wash.

STATE TOURNAMENT FACTS What you need to know about the five-day tournament that starts Wednesday at Swede Johnson Stadium.

Wednesday's first-round matchups: Game 1: Lake Oswego Northwest Realty vs. Medford Mustangs, 8:30 a.m. Game 2: McMinnville Colvin Auto vs. Salem Post 9, noon. Game 3: Columbia Gorge Hustlers vs. Corvallis Richey's Market, 4 p.m. Game 4: Bi-Mart Challengers vs. East County Knights, 7:30 p.m.

What's at stake: The winner of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament earns a trip to the Northwest Regional Tournament Aug. 9-14 in Casper, Wyo. The regional winner advances to the World Series Aug. 18-22 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Casey at the podium: Pat Casey, head coach of Oregon State's 2006 College World Series champion baseball team, will be the featured speaker at tonight's pre-tournament banquet that is scheduled to start at 7 o'clock at the Red Lion Hotel, 205 Coburg Road, Eugene. Tickets are $15 each and may be purchased in advance by calling Carl Nicholsen, Challengers president, at [phone].