Newport was more determined than ever to leave Keizer Stadium this year, with a Championship Trophy, one that eluded them last year. Getting to the Championship game was no easy feat for the 3rd ranked Cubs. With a 22-5 record,  Newport battled through 4A's cream of the crop by impressively defeating 4th ranked Phoenix 8-1, 5th ranked Lagrande 7-1 and #1 ranked North Bend 5-4. 

Coach Ken Riley's crew accomplished their final 3 wins without their starting left-handed pitcher and Valco Player of the Year,  Eddie Crowe, who was injured early in the Newport/Lagrande game last week while diving to 2nd base.   

The Astoria Fisherman, Cowapa League Champions,  enter Volcanoes Stadium with a  22-4 record.  Post season Bracket play consisted of wins over Baker 6-5, Siuslaw 6-2 and 9th ranked Sisters, 12-4.  The Fisherman are no strangers to post season play, this year marks their 6th straight appearance in the playoffs including a State Championship in 2006.  Consisting of just 5 seniors, Astoria will return several key players next season, including Cowapa Co-Player of the Year, Pitcher Jordan Poyer.  Senior Tom Jaworski shared Player of the Year honors with Poyer this year.

The weather at Volcanoes Stadium is ideal today.  Partly cloudy, no wind, 75 degrees.  Astoria is the home team, the crowd is sitting to the left of the announcers booth, a sea of purple fans, they're out in full force!    Newport is to the right and they've come in their battle-ready Camo T-shirts.  Great crowds for both Coastal teams.  The Vendors are busy running up and down the aisles with cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn.  It's game time!

Top 1st:  Astoria takes the field first with Jordan Poyer at the mound.  Cole Skriver, senior, is at the top of the batting order for Newport.  Skriver flys out over 3rd for out #1.  Tristan Metcalf, sophomore connects for a long fly to CF, it's caught, out #2.  Up next is senior slugger Tyler Conklin who put two over the fence in Tuesday's game against North Bend.  Poyer strikes him out with a curve ball.  Newport takes the field.

Bottom of 1st:  Junior Cody Dordan takes the mound for the Cubs, he's stepped up nicely for Newport since losing their ace pitcher, Eddie Crowe in round 3 of the playoffs.   Sophomore catcher, Dane Lund leads off for Astoria.  Dordan wastes no time and strikes Lund out quickly.  Up next is Jordan Poyer, junior.  He gets behind in the count but shows experienced patience and gets the walk.   Senior Tom Jaworski will bat next.  Newport tries to pick Poyer off at first but the quick toss is missed, Poyer to 2nd base.  Jaworski then hits over shortstop for a base hit and Poyer scores.  Newport catcher Tyler Conklin with a phenomenal, right-on-the-money throw to 2nd base beats Jaworski's run, out #2 for the Cubs.  Mason Brause, junior, bats 4th for Astoria, Dordan gets his second strike out!  First Inning is complete with the Fisherman leading 1-0.

Top 2nd:  Travis Iverson, senior will lead off the 2nd inning for Newport. He connects solidly and sends one over the third basemans head, he'll get a double off that hit.  Marcus Luther, senior-first baseman to the plate.  Poyer gets his second strike out.  Mark Moore, junior with the bat, count is 2-2 before Poyer strikes him out.  Cody Dordan up next, count is at 3-2, next pitch is fouled away but the next pitch, Cody connects and sends it screaming over the head of Poyer for a base hit and Iverson scores, Dordan steals 2nd while Astoria attempts to throw Iverson out at home.  Jake Bond, senior bats next.  Poyer records his 3rd strike out.  Score is tied, 1-1

Bottom of 2nd: Senior Hans Lund starts the batting order for Astoria this inning, he hits a line drive to third baseman Travis Iverson for the quick out.  That brings up senior Sam Johnson. Count is 2-2 on Johnson before he sends one up and over the fence into the unknowing crowd.  It appears someone was hit in the Newport section.  *I'll update once I hear.  Next, he hits a ground ball to 2nd base but freshman sensation Casee Case is there to effortlessly snag the ball and throw him out at first.  Jared Rummell, senior gives the Newport crowd a scare with a huge hit out to right field where it stays just fair before dropping into the bullpen for a double.  Nice hit!  Sophomore Max Johnson steps up to the plate and sends another hit soaring into centerfield where it drops.  Cole Skriver, what an arm, miraculously throws the ball all the way in to home plate where an awaiting Tyler Conklin tags Rummell out! My oh my it  just couldn't be executed any better than that! What did Skriver eat for breakfast?  That will give something for the Newport folks to talk about for quite sometime! Incredible,  what was looking like another run for Astoria quickly turned into out #3!  Newport coaches Riley, Heater & Voorhies are beaming after that play. Score 1-1.  *The unlucky fan in the crowd appears to be fine after being struck on the head with a foul ball.

Top of 3rd: Freshman Casee Case will lead off for Newport, he's walked with a 4-0 count.  Top of the batting order starts again with Skriver at the plate, he flys out to center for Astoria's first out.  Metcalf stirkes out, nice pitching by Poyer.  Tyler Conklin lines out.  Quick inning, game remains tied.

Bottom of 3rd: Marcus Brown, sophomore bats first for the Fisherman.  After a full count, he taps one over second base for a base hit, well placed hit by Brown.  Dane Lund comes to the plate for his 2nd at bat.  Dordan's pitch slips, sending a wild throw to the backstop, Brown steals 2nd.  Newport Coach Ken Riley decides to make a pitching change.  Travis Iverson goes to the mound while Dordan moves to 3rd.  With a man in scoring position on 2nd and no outs, Lund steps up again to finish his at bat, with a full count, Iverson shows poise and strikes Lund out.  Poyer is up next,  with a 1-2 count Iverson's pitch is bobbled by Conklin giving Brown enough time to steal 3rd.  Full-count for Poyer and he sends one sailing through the gap in left-center for a base hit, Brown will score and Astoria regains the lead at 2-1.  Newport needs an out.  Jaworski grounds to right field for a base hit, Poyer's speed gets him to 3rd base.  With runners on 1st and 3rd, 1-out, Mason Brause steps to the plate, Astoria fans are on their feet and cheering.  Brause with a perfect sacrifice fly to right field, Poyer will score, Astoria leads 3-1 with 2 outs.  Lund bats next and sends one out, way out, to centerfield, it drops but Skriver again, is right there to scoop it up and hit the Metcalf cut-off who bullets a throw into homeplate where yet again, Astoria is tagged at homeplate by the talented Tyler Conklin.  End of the 3rd, Astoria leads, 3-1

Top of 4th:  Iverson is first to bat, he grounds to shortstop where Jaworski makes a great snag and throws him out at first.  Luther steps to the plate and jacks one to centerfield!  Base coaches are waving him around, he'll get a stand-up triple for his efforts. Great hit!  Moore with a sacrifice fly brings Luther home. Score 3-2.  Dordan fly's out.  Inning ends with Astoria leading, 3-2.

Bottom of 4th: Johnson will bat first, he's walked. Rummell is up next and Iverson makes quick work out of him with the strike out.  Up next is Max Johnson and Iverson continues his keen curve balls, Newport's crowd is enjoying his show, Johnson goes down swinging.  Marcus Brown hits deep to centerfield but the gritty Skriver gets to the ball and the inning ends with no runs, no hits, no errors, Astoria leads, 3-2.

Top of 5th:  Jake Bond steps to the plate and hits a ground ball to 3rd, the catch is bobbled by Astoria and they can't make the throw to first on time, Bond is safe.  Case pops out to the infield giving Astoria their first out.  Cole Skriver is next at the plate, he's walked! Bond goes to 2nd.  Astoria coach Dave Gassner calls a time out to speak with his pitcher, Poyer remains on the mound.  Tristan Metcalf is Newports next batter, count is 1-1 when Poyer throws a wild pitch, Bond and Skriver steal 3rd and 2nd.  Metcalf nails one to centerfield for a single that allows both runners to score, Newport leads 4-3.  With only one out, one runner on base, Tyler Conklin steps to the plate, Poyer puts on a show and strikes him out.  Iverson up next, he chops one to the third baseman who bobbles the throw and Iverson will be safe at first.  Metcalf is on second.  Up next for the Cubs is Luther, he hits a ground ball to 2nd, it's fielded perfectly and the inning ends 4-3 Newport.

Bottom of 5th: Lund will lead off for Astoria, he grounds to shortstop and is thrown out at first.  Poyer has a count of 1-2 when he connects and grounds to shortstop for the exact same play as his teammate Lund just encountered.  2 outs.  Jaworski steps up, looks determined takes the fourth pitch thrown and grounds to second, Case scoops it up and throws him out at 1st.  Quick inning, Newport maintains it's lead, 4-3.

Top of 6th:  Mark Moore leads off for Newport, he goes down swinging, one out. Dordan flys out to centerfield, 2 outs.  Jake Bond steps to the plate and connects for a well placed hit over shortstop, he's on first.  Case steps to the plate and is walked by Poyer.  Astoria coaches decide it's time to make a pitching change.  Hans Lund will take the mound while Ian Erickson comes in to play 2nd base, Poyer will play centerfield and Max Johnson will leave the game.   So, for Newport, they have 2 men on base, 2 outs.  Cole Skriver to the plate, he hits to outfield, it drops and Bond scores for Newport. Score 5-3.   Metcalf is next, wild pitch allows the runners to advance.  Metcalfs 3rd strike is called but the ball goes through the catchers hands, meanwhile, Case steals home and the speedy Metcalf makes it all the way to 2nd base! Wow, some tough breaks for Astoria and some great breaks for Newport. Score is now 6-3 Newport.   Time out for Astoria as Coach Gassner makes another pitching change.   Sophomore Taylor Landwehr will replace Lund.   Conklin steps to the plate, hits over first base  for a single but more importantly, sends Metcalf home for another Newport score!  7-3.   Iverson will bat next,  he hits one way way back deep into centerfield that would be over the fence in most High School ballparks, it's caught by Poyer!   Newport made serious strikes toward a championship in that inning. 

Bottom of 6th: Mason Brause leads off for Astoria.  The Fisherman need some big bats this inning.  Brause executes perfectly sending a high deep ball to the centerfield fence, he'll be rewarded with a triple, that was a beauty! Hans Lund is following in Brause's footsteps and he too sends one sailing over second base, Brause scores and Lund is on first.  Score 7-4 Newport.  Sam Johnson bats next, Astoria crowd is liking how this inning has started.  Iverson works quickly, striking Johnson out and simmering Astoria's crowd down a bit.  Rummell is up next but Iverson is on a terror and strikes him out as well.  2 outs.  Max Johnson also falls prey to Iverson who appears to be "in the groove"  striking out the last 3 batters.  He's ferocious today and the Camo-Clad-Crowd from Newport is loving it!  Score 7-4 Newport.

Top of 7th: Marcus Luther will start things off for Newport by hitting a ground ball to shortstop and like the roadrunner, making it to first before Jaworski can throw him out.  Nice wheels Marcus.  Mark Moore steps to the plate and jacks one out to centerfield!  It appears Poyer is going to catch it but slips while running for it and the ball goes over his head.  Luther scores for Newport and Moore is on 2nd.  8-4 Newport.  Dordan to the plate, sacrifice bunt but Moore is tagged at the plate while going home.  2 outs.  Case bats next for Newport but  Landwehr records his first strike out.  Inning ends,  Newport leads 8-4.

Bottom of 7th: It's do-or-die time for the Astoria Fisherman.  Newport fans are on their feet.  Up first for Astoria is Marcus Brown, obviously, Iverson wants this game over, he strikes Brown out in no time.  Dane Lund steps up to the batter's box, count is 2-2 before Iverson burns the fifth pitch in and Lund goes down swinging.  2 outs.  Crowd is going crazy, Poyer will bat next, he connects and sends one out to centerfield for a base hit.  Nice hit for Poyer under such pressure.  Next for Astoria is Tom Jaworski, at 3-2, Jaworski floats another out to centerfield! They are quite a duo for Astoria.  Runners on 1st and 3rd.  Astoria crowd is now on their feet!  Mason Brause will face Iverson and 1-2-3 strikes he's out, Newport Wins, Newport Wins!  8-4.  Travis Iverson recorded 9 strikeouts, incredible display he put on today as well as this entire Newport team.  They proved, beyond a doubt, they are the 2008 4A STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONS! Travis Iverson and Tom Jaworski were named QWest Players of the Game.