Powerful lineup puts Post 158 into the American Legion World Series for the first time.
Portland (Ore.) Post 158 coach Joe Duran sees the positives and the negatives of his team’s offensive proficiency this season.
“Fortunately for us, and unfortunately, we haven’t been in a lot of tight games. We’ve been scoring a lot of runs. But when we have been in tight games, we’ve pulled it out most of the time,” Duran said.
Post 158 (44-4) counted on that offense to rebound from a 6-5, 8-inning loss to Yakima (Wash.) in the opening round of the Northwest Regional, reeling off five straight victories to win the regional and advance to the American Legion World Series for the first time in program history.
“After we lost that opening game, I just told the kids, ‘Stay the course. Hold the line. One pitch at a time.’ And they never faltered. They chipped away, chipped away, and once we were in striking distance, we’re so offensive, we’re never out of it,” Duran said.
“We’re a tough lineup. Our No. 9 hitter (Jayden Nakamura) led the region, he hit .529 at the regional. He rolls it over to our leadoff guy (Kainoa Santiago) who’s on his way to Gonzaga,” one of the team’s 11 Division I commitments, Duran added.
Despite a long travel day, Duran and his players were basking in the glow of the program’s first trip to Shelby, N.C., and the ALWS.
“It’s like the first time I stepped into Disneyland, this is amazing. I texted my assistant coaches who are on their way, I said, ‘I wish you guys were here for this.’ This is unbelievable. This is what it’s all about. I wish every kid got to experience this. It’s surpassed expectations,” Duran said.
ALWS Schedule
Aug. 15: Game 3, vs. League City (Tex.) Post 554, 4 p.m. ET
Aug. 16: Game 6, vs. Rockport (Ind.) Post 254, 1 p.m. ET
Aug. 17: Game 11, vs. Lincoln (Neb.) Post 500, 4 p.m. ET
Roster*
No. Name Pos. Ht./Wt. B/T Graduates / School
28 Bishop, Jacob P / LF 5'10"/165 L/L 2024 / Jesuit High School
9 Bishop, Max CF / P 6'1"/170 R/R 2025 / La Salle High School
18 Chun, Dakota C / 3B 5'10"/215 L/R 2025 / Sunset
19 Coltman, Gabe RF / LF 6'5"/230 R/R 2025 / Sunset High School
4 Fagan, Joe SS / 2B 6'0"/190 R/R 2025 / Scappoose
32 Garcia, Achillies P / LF 5'10"/175 L/L 2026 / Aloha
3 Hersom, Torsten P / SS 6'1"/160 L/R 2025 / La Salle High School
12 Keljo, Grady P / LF 6'4"/220 R/R 2025 / Jesuit
2 Kelly, Kiernan C / LF 5'11"/165 R/R 2026 / La Salle High School
8 Nakamura, Jayden 2B / SS 5'8"/165 L/R 2025 / Aloha
1 Nakamura, Logan SS / CF 5'10"/170 L/R 2025 / Ridgeview High School
24 Nakamura, Ryden RF / P 5'10"/185 R/R 2026 / Ridgeview High School
16 Parry, Connor P / 1B 6'4"/215 R/R 2025 / Sherwood
6 Santiago, Kainoa CF / P 5'11"/170 L/L 2025 / Jesuit High School
15 Scott, Griffin P / 1B 6'2"/205 R/L 2024 / Ida B. Wells
10 Stewart, Carter 1B / C 6'3"/210 L/R 2025 / Jesuit
Manager: Joe Duran
Assistants: Ben Bertrand, Jason Fritz, Dave Schoppe, Cooper Smith
*Players will receive camo jerseys for Military Appreciation Day during team orientation which may be different numbers than listed here.
Regional results
Aug. 6: Yakima (Wash.) d. Portland (Ore.) Post 158, 6-5 (8 innings).
Aug. 7: Portland (Ore.) Post 158 d. Billings (Mont.) Post 4, 14-11.
Aug. 8: Portland (Ore.) Post 158 d. Missoula (Mont.) Post 27, 10-1.
Aug. 9: Portland (Ore.) Post 158 d. Gillette (Wyo.) Post 42, 11-5.
Aug. 10: Portland (Ore.) Post 158 d. Idaho Falls (Idaho) Post 56, 12-9.
Aug. 10: Portland (Ore.) Post 158 d. Idaho Falls (Idaho) Post 56, 13-5.
- Baseball