VANCOUVER, WASH. — The good news was that the North Kitsap Little League’s “Big League” 16-18 year-old all star and state champion team got it’s first win against an Hawaii squad it hadn’t been able to beat in three years of attempts.

“It’s the first time in a long time Washington has beat the Hawaii team,” said David Jones, manager of the Big Leaguers. “We played very well.”

But the bad news: NKLL needed not one — but two wins against their island rivals.

Despite a 4-1 lead against Hawaii July 18 after North had garnered its first win against the same team, the Hawaiians powered back for a 6-4 win to earn a bid into the Western Regional tournament, held in Sacramento, Calif.

“They showed a lot of courage,” said Jones, in spite of the loss. “They just seemed to battle and showed the character to get the win. They never got into panic mode.”

The divisional, played the weekend and week of July 15-18, included state champions from Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. The NKLL team began the tournament with a loss at the hands of the Oregon state champs, 5-4 in 11 innings July 15. Though NK held a three-run lead, a homer by Oregon in the sixth knotted things at 4 apiece until Oregon broke the tie in the 11th.

The team came back in the back draw to beat host and southern Washington state champs Vancouver, 4-1, behind the pitching of Brett Whitman. Riding that momentum, the team again faced Oregon, and beat the team 13-3, July 17.

Then came the NKLL team’s largest upset on July 18: North Kitsap won a scrappy contest versus the perennial favorites Hawaii, 2-1. But because Hawaii hadn’t lost a game in the tournament, NK would have to beat them again to advance to the Western Regional. Though the local big leaguers held an edge in the final game, Hawaii came from behind for the win to send the islanders to the Western Regional Tournament, held this past weekend in Sacramento.

Beating the Hawaii Big League squad was a big accomplishment, Jones noted, as the team placed second among the prestigious regional’s teams over the weekend, and has swept the divisional tournament four years running.

The NKLL Big Leaguers included Whitman, Erik Gronnvoll, Joel Camp, Daniel Paulson, Eric Finlon, Chris Mathis, Kevin Doucette, Jason Freiboth, Ray Spears, Ryan Welsh, Jeff Jones, Derek Goodall, Blaine Holbrook and coaches Paul Freiboth and Rob Finlon and manager David Jones.

To get to the divisional tournament, North Kitsap first swept the state tournament, held July 9-11 in Arlington. NK first beat District 8 qualifier Ballard, 7-6, July 9 to move into the semi-finals. The team had little trouble dispatching tournament host Arlington, 8-2 July 10.

The finals would prove to be a 10-inning battle with Arlington, which had won its loser-out game to make it back to the championship with NK. After giving up six runs in the first inning, Whitman struck out 14 over seven innings of work and North finally got the winning run in the late 10th, winning 7-6.

It was the North Kitsap team’s third consecutive state title, an accomplishment that shouldn’t be overlooked despite the team’s falling short at divisionals.

“The 13 players on this team and each could play every position,” Jones said. “It was a truly an all star team.”