Times Observer photo by Matt Spielman Portland, Oregon's Joaquin Goodlow (7), Carson Andyke, left, and Silas Combs celebrate after Goodlow and Andyke scored on a sixth-inning error to give their team a 3-1 lead during Game 21 of the Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series against Opp, Alabama on Thursday at Diethrick Park in Jamestown, N.Y.

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — On Wednesday morning, Portland, Oregon did not have a spot in the playoff round of the Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series at Diethrick Park. However, after two dramatic finishes in the span of 24 hours, Portland landed itself in Friday’s semifinals.

In Wednesday’s game against the No. 1 team in the National Division, Norwalk, Connecticut, Portland walked off in the seventh inning. Against the No. 3 team in the American Division, Opp, Alabama, Portland decided to get it done an inning earlier.

With the score tied at 1-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, Portland looked determined to make it the final time it had to bat after Roscoe Mithoefer was hit by a pitch and Joaquin Goodlow was subsequently placed on the base paths as a pinch runner. A sacrifice bunt was followed up by another batter being hit, then a fielder’s choice put runners on first and third with two outs and Brave Johnson coming up to bat.

Carson Andyke swiped second base to put a pair of runners in scoring position, but Opp pitcher Cash Harrell was focused on his battle with Johnson. Then with the crack of the bat and the ball on the ground it looked like Harrell had won the duel, but a routine grounder somehow snuck under the shortstop and into centerfield allowing both Goodlow and Andyke to score the winning and insurance runs at 3-1.

“The kids just have a ton of heart,” Portland head coach Craig Combs stated. “They keep going, keep going, keep digging, figuring out ways to get runners on and take advantage of that and score runs in key moments. We’ve battled through several games now that have gone all the way to the end. We have enough heart and courage to keep fighting to figure out a way to win these games.”

Times Observer photo by Matt Spielman Portland, Oregon's Brave Johnson tags out Opp, Alabama's Matthew Morgan attempting to steal during Game 21 of the Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series on Thursday at Diethrick Park in Jamestown, N.Y.

After scoring just one run all game long, the insurance run made the comeback a much more difficult task, but Opp is no stranger to defying the odds. The Southeast Regional Champions, just like Portland, earned its spot in the playoff round in dramatic fashion on Wednesday.

In Opp’s final game group game against Broomall-Newtown, Pennsylvania, it trailed by three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“The competition in the World Series is something like we’ve never seen before,” Opp head coach Andrew Cox stated. “You make any mistakes at all and these kids will make them pay. We got better by doing this, this summer. All our guys is from one high school, so it was big to go through this competition and have some success.”

In both circumstances the bottom of Opp’s lineup got things started and it looked promising when Clay Jackson got on to start the top of the seventh against Portland.

Portland pitcher Skye Baker struck out the next Opp batter, but when he hit a second batter — Matthew Morgan — he put the pressure on himself with the tying run on the bases. That brought the top of Opp’s lineup to the plate and in the hole was clutch hitter Porter Nelson.

Times Observer photo by Matt Spielman Opp, Alabama's Porter Nelson gestures toward his dugout after hitting his second triple of the game during Game 21 of the Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series against Portland, Oregon on Thursday at Diethrick Park in Jamestown, N.Y.

Baker looked to avoid facing Nelson who in his first two at bats rocketed triples to right field, including one that scored Harrell in the top of the third.

“He’s a gamer,” Cox said about Nelson. “He’s a good guy, he does everything the right way. He comes to the park with a great mindset every day and we expect big things from him in the future.”

Nelson did not get his chance to come up big for his team this time as Baker induced pop outs from both Will Jackson and Harrell to end the game.

“It was great for us to have a different look when Skye came in,” Combs said about Portland’s pitching. “He just threw strikes and was consistent. He stayed in and didn’t get ups and downs, and was able to get our outs.”

For his two triples and RBI, Nelson was named the Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game for Opp.

Times Observer photo by Matt Spielman Portland, Oregon's Paul Oellrich celebrates after the final out of Game 21 of the Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series against Opp, Alabama on Thursday at Diethrick Park in Jamestown, N.Y. Portland won 3-1 to advance to Friday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal against Torrance, California.

While Nelson had the big bat for Opp, it was Tino Flores swinging heavy for Portland to earn Player of the Game honors. In the third inning, Flores drove in the Portland’s only RBI, a single to score James Gill III. However, it was his next at bat that made some noise as Flores hammered a ball to deep right field that he was able to leg out for a triple.

“He’s just been solid at the plate,” Combs said about Flores. “He keeps stepping up in big moments. Putting the ball in play and getting those runners to cross home, giving us key runs when we need him.”

Portland’s win continued its season and the reward is a matchup against the American Division winner, Torrance, California at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Diethrick Park.

Opp, Alabama’s World Series comes to a close with the Southwest Regional champions going 2-3.

“We had a lot of fun this summer,” Cox said about the season. “We went further than any team from Opp has ever went and it was something fun. We come up a little short and that’s how it is in baseball sometimes, just come up on the wrong end.”