Redmond little league team knows about comebacks

During its breathtaking run to the Little League World Series, the Redmond North baseball team adopted the motto: Just have fun.

It might as well have been: What, us worry?

The Redmond North All-Stars will be the sixth Washington team of 11- and 12-year-olds to participate in Williamsport, Pa., when it plays Lamar National of Richmond, Texas, today at noon.

Redmond North has amassed a 22-4 record, winning the District 9, Washington state and Northwest Region tournaments to earn a berth in the 16-team, international field.

Most startling, though, is that 16 of those wins came in games in which Redmond North faced elimination. The team won eight straight games after being dumped into the loser-out bracket at district, won six straight after an opening loss at state, and rallied from three runs behind in the final inning of the regional semifinals to earn a chance at the title.

"I think it's just that we focus in once our backs against the wall," said Kieran Beaton, who shares primary pitching duties with Ryan Beliel. "We're like, 'now we have to win.' "

Kirkland National, which won the 1982 Little League World Series, remains the only champion from Washington. Its 6-0 win over Pu-tzu Little League of Taipei, Taiwan, was all the more remarkable because it came at a time when Far East teams — most from Taiwan — had dominated the tournament, winning 12 of the 15 previous titles.

The path to the World Series got easier for Washington teams in 2001, when the West Regional was split to create a new Northwest Region comprised of Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Since Hazel Dell of Vancouver won the 2000 West Regional in the final year of the eight-team World Series, Washington has produced three of the four representatives in the expanded 16-team World Series.

Many of the current Redmond North players were part of the district runner-up team from a year ago.

"After we got the team, some of the coaches said, 'We're gonna win it all,' " said Darryl Beliel, the team's manager and Ryan's father. "Then we lost our first game."

If you want resiliency, this is your squad.

Redmond North started its World Series run in dubious fashion, dropping a 1-0 decision to Sammamish National in the opening game of the District 9 tournament in Sammamish. That prompted a charge through the loser's bracket that included two one-run victories before a 15-5 romp over Bellevue Thunderbird in the title game.

The state tournament, also in Sammamish, was more of the same. Redmond North fell 4-3 to Pac West in its opener, then charged through four opponents in the loser's bracket before beating Steel Lake twice to win the championship. One of the games going eight innings.

"There's been a different hero every game, we're not riding one player," said Darryl Beliel. "We knew we wanted 12 solid players who play together as a team and keep their attitude together."

Since regionals, where the championship was broadcast nationally on ESPN2, the squad has faced a different kind of pressure — a media crush with presidential overtones.

The players were invited to Boeing Field to meet president George W. Bush while he was in Washington shortly after the team returned from California.

Now the team has been featured in print and broadcast stories and had a taping session with ESPN, which is broadcasting all Redmond North's games.

"My observation is they take it all in stride," said Mike Conforto, father of center fielder Michael Conforto. "They're almost young enough to be kind of oblivious to it. They met the president and, yeah, they thought it was cool, but they don't really know the significance."

Washington in World Series
Only six Washington teams have qualified for the Little League World Series, but three have done so in four years since the Northwest Regional was created:
Year	Wash. qualifier	W-L	Finish
1980	Kirkland National	2-1	Third place
1982	Kirkland National		First place
2000	Hazel Dell of Vancouver	2-2	Lost in semifinals
2001	Bainbridge Island	2-1	Missed semifinals*
2003	Richland National	0-3	Missed semifinals
2004	Redmond North
* Missed semifinals on tiebreaker.