A8
FRIDAY
June 17, 2022
Spring Sports
SeasideSignal.com
BASEBALL
Gulls, Fisherman earn all-league honors
The Astorian
Becky White
Jarred White, Seaside
Despite rough seasons on the fi eld, the
Astoria and Seaside baseball teams still
placed a combined eight players on the
Cowapa League’s all-league team.
League champion Banks had eight all-
leaguers, including two juniors, three soph-
omores and a freshman, as the Braves fi n-
ished their last season at the 4A level as
the No. 1-ranked team in the fi nal Oregon
School Activities Association rankings. The
Braves will drop into the 3A Coastal Range
League next school year.
Banks seniors Colten Hesselman and
Charlie White were selected as both the
Cowapa’s Players of the Year and Pitchers
of the Year, while Joe Baumgartner of Banks
and Matt Strang of Tillamook were Coaches
of the Year.
Astoria and Seaside had four players each
earn all-league honors.
The 66-player 4A all-state team included
Astoria junior pitcher Niko Boudreau (hon-
orable mention).
COWAPA ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
Logan Kind, Jr., Banks
Players of the Year: Colten Hesselman,
Banks; Charlie White, Banks
Trevor Leonnig, Jr., Tillamook
Pitchers of the Year: Colten Hesselman,
Banks; Charlie White, Banks
Nik Radosavljevic, Sr., Valley Catholic
Coaches of the Year: Joe Baumgartner,
Banks; Matt Strang, Tillamook
Lawson Talamantez, Sr., Seaside
Parker McKibbin, Jr., Tillamook
Cade Ross, Jr., Tillamook
Justin Walters, So., Banks
First Team
Colten Hesselman, Sr., Banks
Honorable Mention
Charlie White, Sr., Banks
Will Erickson, Fr., Valley Catholic
Merrick Benesch, So., Astoria
Harry Gardner, Fr., Banks
Niko Boudreau, Jr., Astoria
Karson Hawkins, Jr., Astoria
Ashton Crossen, So., Banks
Tanner Kraushaar, Jr., Seaside
Ben Cupani, Jr., Valley Catholic
Seth Landolt, Jr., Tillamook
Connelly Fromwiller, Jr., Astoria
James Pearson, So., Valley Catholic
Junior Gonzalez, Sr., Tillamook
Wyatt Selleck, Jr., Banks
Bryce Hamerl, Jr., Tillamook
Jake White, Fr., Seaside
Wyatt Hesselman, So., Banks
Jarred White, Sr., Seaside
Drew Ilg, Sr., Valley Catholic
Trevor Yee, Fr., Valley Catholic
BASEBALL
Atwood is league MVP,
Wolfe is top coach
The Astorian
The Coastal Range
all-League baseball team
refl ected the results on the
fi eld in 2022, as the league
champion Warrenton War-
riors backed up another
league title with eight
selections to the all-league
squad and the top two indi-
vidual honors.
Warrenton junior Dylon
Atwood was selected as
the league’s Player of the
Year, and Lennie Wolfe
collected his 11th league
Coach of the Year award.
Among the Warrenton
players on the all-league
team were two seniors,
three juniors and three
freshmen. Rainier had a
league-high 10 selections.
The 3A all-state team,
announced last week,
included three Warriors:
Atwood (fi rst team util-
ity player), senior Ethan
Caldwell (second team
catcher) and senior Joshua
Earls (honorable mention
outfi elder).
COASTAL RANGE ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
Player of the Year: Dylon Atwood, Warrenton
Coach of the Year: Lennie Wolfe, Warrenton
First Team
Dylon Atwood, Jr., Warrenton
Kai Bayer, Fr., Taft
Gary Henley/The Astorian
Ayden Boursaw, So., Clatskanie
Ethan Caldwell, Sr., Warrenton
Boomer Bjaranson, right, puts the tag on ex-Warrior Michael Davis in one of the recent Warrenton baseball alumni games.
Joshua Earls, Sr., Warrenton
Evan Halferty, So., Taft
Kaden Hindman, Sr., Taft
Alumni game part of Bjaranson’s love of baseball
Topher McDonnell, So., Clatskanie
Talon McGrorty, Fr., Warrenton
Austin Stout, Jr., Rainier
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
Kenney Tripp, Sr., Rainier
Jayce Womack, Sr., Rainier
Second Team
Colby Biddix, So., Rainier
Caleb Bostic, Sr., Clatskanie
Baron Delameter, Jr., Taft
Hunter Gutenberger, So., Rainier
Mike Hart, Sr., Catlin Gabel
Nico Howlett, Fr., Catlin Gabel
Ezra James, Fr., Taft
Gavin Koceja, Jr., Taft
Dawson Little, Jr., Warrenton
George Pritchard, Jr., Catlin Gabel
Peyton Setzer, So., Rainier
Mikey Ulness, Jr., Warrenton
Honorable Mention
Andrew Allen, Sr., Willamina
Josh Ellis, Jr., Rainier
Armando Fajardo, So., Taft
Dillon George, Sr., Catlin Gabel
Corey Greenlaw, Sr., Willamina
Keegan Holsey, Sr., Clatskanie
Justice Kelso, Fr., Taft
Tyson McGrorty, Fr., Warrenton
Hayden Murphy, Sr., Rainier
Sam Shaff er, Sr., Willamina
Brenden Shroll, Fr., Clatskanie
Kaison Smith, Fr., Warrenton
Gabe Tipton, Sr., Rainier
Stone Ware, Sr., Rainier
Sportsmanship: Rainier
WARRENTON — He’s
been “Boomer” Bjaranson
for so long and to so many
people, his real fi rst name —
Ryan — has become more of
a nickname.
“I’ve always gone by
Boomer,” said the 1993 War-
renton graduate and long-
time assistant baseball coach
at Warrenton High School.
“If anyone yells, ‘Ryan!’ I
wouldn’t even look.”
Bjaranson is in his 14th
season as an assistant to War-
renton head coach Lennie
Wolfe, and in the past served
as an assistant boys basket-
ball coach. “Boomer,” and
the Bjaranson family in gen-
eral, is well known in all cir-
cles of the community.
His current project — and
one he’s been in charge of
for years, is organizing and
running Warrenton’s annual
alumni baseball game, which
is getting to be a big deal for
the small town.
“I anticipate 20 to 30
guys showing up this year,”
Bjaranson said of the ninth
alumni game, set for July 3
at the high school. “Last year
was a smaller turnout, but
I’m putting some pressure
on people to come this year.
Michelle (Wolfe) will be
doing her barbecue, all fam-
ilies and friends are welcome,
and it will be Fourth of July
weekend, so I’m hoping for a
good turnout.”
There’s no charge for fans
to attend the alumni game.
A suggested $20 donation
for Warrenton graduates to
play in the game goes to the
Warrenton baseball summer
program.
The event is “kind of
established now, so people
know about it,” Bjaranson
said. “But it’s still a challenge
for guys to overcome their
fear of pulling a hamstring,
or getting in the batter’s box
after a decade or more of not
playing.”
A big concern is always
bringing in a former catcher
or two. In other words, some-
one with good knees.
“My biggest fear is that
we won’t have any catchers
show up,” he said.
The process for the game
itself is like a sandlot game.
“We pick a couple captains
and let them select who they
want. Guys can play fi rst
base, shortstop … wherever
they want,” he said. “They
can just take one at-bat or
move around in the middle
of an inning. There’s no rules.
It’s just a good time.”
There’s also a home run
derby. At the end of the day,
“everybody’s smiling and
having a great time,” Bjaran-
son said. “It’s more of an ‘old
timers’ game. It’s about fam-
ily bonding and reconnect-
ing with your old teammates.
I know it’s real enjoyable for
coach Wolfe to see his former
players.”
The Warrenton coach
since 1992, Wolfe is now
coaching the children of for-
mer players.
“He’s a Hall of Fame
coach, won a lot of games,
and Lennie is obviously more
than just the baseball coach
here. He’s really helping kids
along the way, developing the
facilities and much more.”
“Boomer” was a nick-
name “my mom and grand-
mother gave me when I was
little,” Bjaranson said. “I’d
pound on the wall when I
was a little baby, and when
I’d wake up, they’d just hear
‘boom, boom, boom’ on the
wall. And the name stuck.”
Boomer’s four siblings all
attended Warrenton: Brothers
Jeff , Jason (Jay) and Adam,
and Boomer’s twin sister,
Missy.
Bjaranson sells for a real
estate franchise, working
remotely for a company out
of Utah. Adam Bjaranson is
a television sports announcer
for KOIN 6 in Portland, well
known by followers of the
Portland Trail Blazers and
Oregon sports.
The family was stunned
by the death of Jay Bjaranson
in 2012 — one of four who
died when the fi shing boat
Lady Cecelia sank 20 miles
west of Leadbetter Point,
Washington.
“We try to honor Jay and
his memory in any way we
can,” Boomer said. “Two of
my brothers were fi shermen.
We have friends who are in
the fi shing industry, so we
know things like that can hap-
pen, and unfortunately it did.
“It’s still a little surreal
looking back. Jay and I were
close. He graduated in ‘91.
He was a wrestler. He was a
fi shermen, loyal to his fam-
ily and friends … just a tough
loss.”
As for the alumni game,
the coronavirus pandemic
kept participation down the
past two years, so Bjaranson
is hoping the alumni contest
will bring some happiness
back to the community.
Bjaranson’s ultimate goal
is to have an alumni tour-
nament for the county, with
former players from Asto-
ria, Seaside, Warrenton and
Knappa meeting on the fi eld
to decide who’s really the
king of baseball. Wherever
it’s held, a one-day tourna-
ment would surely bring out
the fans.
“I love baseball, and this is
my chance to give back to the
community,” he said. “Just a
way for me to be around the
game I love, and hopefully
have an impact on kids.”