PORTLAND, Ore. The Floyds Knobs All-Stars had everything lined up for their cross-country trip to the Little League Softball World Series.

After the teams final local practice session, head coach Travis Unruh had everyone stay over at his barn Sunday night. A bus arrived before sunrise the next morning to take the team to the Indianapolis airport.

We have four or five girls who had never flown before, but we coached them up and they all did a great job getting through the airport, Unruh said.

Getting off the runway would be another story.

The team had a change-over in Denver, boarding their flight smoothly only to find themselves sitting in place as the minutes rolled past.

We waited for about an hour for them to find a pilot, Cammie Unruh said.

The hiccup that no level of planning could solve.

After the brief delay, the plane touched down in Portland, and the team was picked up by a luxury tour bus for the 45-minute ride to the Alpenrose Dairy site for the World Series.

Its been a long day, but this is cool, assistant coach Chris Nolot said.

Its an older place. Theres a lot of tradition here, Travis Unruh said.

Shortly after arriving, the girls were fitted for their blue and orange uniforms as representatives of the Central Region, then it was off to the main field for a photo shoot. The day ended with a trip to Easton to get geared up with bats and bags for the Series before finally checking into the team hotel in downtown Portland.

The Easton Skills Competition is at 7 p.m. today with players competing in everything from base running and catcher throw downs to pitching through tires and a home run contest.

The round-robin phase of the Series begins Wednesday with Floyds Knobs opening against the Latin America champs from Puerto Rico at 7 p.m.

By game time, well have a party of 70 here. We should have those bleachers pretty packed, Cammie Unruh said.

Floyds Knobs is one a bye Thursday, often a chance for teams to explore the area sites. Plans were still up in the air Monday, but some were talking about a trip to the Northern Oregon coast.

We want to keep them grounded, Travis Unruh said. We remind them to be proud of what theyve done to this point but not to be satisfied.

LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES

At Portland, Ore. (all times Eastern)

POOL B

Central Champion Floyds Knobs

Asia-Pacific Champion Bacolod City (Philippines)

Latin America Champion Coamo (Puerto Rico)

Southwest Champion Waco (Texas)

Oregon Champion TBD

POOL A

East Champion Bear (Delaware)

European Champion Prague (Czech Republic)

Southeast Champion Salisbury (North Carolina)

West Champion Cedar City (Utah)

Canada Champion TBD

POOL B SCHEDULE

Wednesday, Aug. 9

Texas vs. Oregon, 4 p.m.

Floyds Knobsvs. Puerto Rico, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 10

Texas vs. Puerto Rico, 1 p.m.

Oregon vs. Philippines, 7 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 11

Floyds Knobsvs. Philippines, 1 p.m.

Oregon vs. Puerto Rico, 10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 12

Floyds Knobsvs. Oregon, 6 p.m.

Philippines vs. Texas, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 13

Philippines vs. Puerto Rico, 3 p.m.

Floyds Knobsvs. Texas, 6 p.m.

ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT

QUARTERFINALS

Monday, Aug. 14

Game 21 Pool A No. 2 vs. Pool B No. 3, 1 p.m. (ESPN2)

Game 22 Pool A No. 4 vs. Pool B No. 1, 4 p.m.(ESPN2)

Game 23 Pool A No. 3 vs. Pool B No. 2, 7 p.m.(ESPN2)

Game 24 Pool A No. 1 vs. Pool B No. 4, 10 p.m.(ESPN2)

SEMIFINALS

Tuesday, Aug. 15

Game 21 winner vs. Game 22 winner, 6:30 p.m.(ESPN2)

Game 23 winner vs. Game 24 winner, 9 p.m.(ESPN2)

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Wednesday, Aug. 16

Semifinal winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

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LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL: Floyds Knobs in Portland for World Series after travel issues - Newsandtribune