PORTLAND, Ore. — The Willow Creek All Stars out of Washington County are representing the city of Portland, the state of Oregon, and really, the entire Western United States at this year’s Little League Softball World Series.
Portland's Alpenrose Dairy is hosting the International competition for a 26th consecutive year.
Each of the those years, the Little League champions from District 4 in Oregon have served as the tournament’s host team. This year, for the first time in 8 years, the Willow Creek All Stars earned that spot.
They opened up play Wednesday against the representatives from Canada. On Thursday, they face the Europe-Africa champions from Italy.
These 12- and 13-year-olds are playing against some of the best Little League teams in the world, and their head coach believes they’re built to handle those teams.
“They have this camaraderie that is just amazing,” says Erin Boling. “I think they’ve got the skills to do it.”
The 10-team tournament ends Aug. 14. The last two teams standing square off in a Championship game that will be broadcast live on ESPN.
(Video from 2017 below)