WILDER SENIOR: Team gets invitation to Babe Ruth World Series in Branson, Mo.

Published 1:45 pm Monday, July 20, 2026

PORT ANGELES — For the second straight year, Wilder Senior is off to the Babe Ruth World Series in Branson, Mo.

It appeared the seniors fell short of qualifying for the World Series this weekend, losing in the regional semifinals, but after the tournament was over, they were offered an invitational spot which the team accepted.

Wilder Senior romped through pool play at the Babe Ruth Regionals in Calgary, Alberta, with a 3-0 record and outscoring its opponents 37-6. The seniors lost 6-2 in the semifinals to Calgary Premier, which went on to win regionals and win an outright spot at the World Series.

Wilder Senior, which won the Dick Brown Memorial Tournament in Port Angeles earlier this summer and has a record of 17-11, got the invite after another team dropped out. Coach Zac Moore said the invite showed how much respect that Wilder Senior has with the Babe Ruth organization.

“They could’ve invited anyone and they chose us,” he said.

The invite means the team will not be competing in the Washington American Legion championship tournament, which begins Saturday. The Babe Ruth World Series runs from July 27 to Aug. 4.

Last year, Wilder Senior won the Babe Ruth regional tournament and went 4-2 at the World Series in Ocala, Fla., making the semifinals.

This year’s team is a little younger and less experienced than last year’s, which had veterans such as Alex Angevine, Ezra Townsend and Luke Flodstrom who are now playing college ball. However, the team has powerful pitching behind Brayden Martin, Kody Williams, Ethan Staples and others and showed during regionals that are capable of scoring a lot of runs, too.

“They are very good baseball players and they play the game the right way,” Moore said.