‘Like a family’: Bend North Majors softball team heading to California for Little League NW Regional

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Bend North Majors softball team made it to the States for the very first time -- and then won the whole thing.

Now they’re heading to San Bernardino, California for the regional title, with a trip to the Little League World Series on the line.

Kevin Guiney, the team's manager, is unbelievably proud of this team.

“I honestly don’t know if another Bend team has been down there before. Not positive, but super exciting,” Guiney said. “The girls are super-excited, and they’ve definitely earned it.”

They’ll represent the entire state of Oregon.

Kevin's daughter, Janelle, is the team’s starting pitcher. 

‘Well, it's been really nice, because a lot of people didn’t think we could,'' Janelle said. “But we did, and I think it's a good thing for our team.”

Bend North Softball has only been around for five years.

This summer, it sent both its majors and minors teams to States for the first time.

While the minors took second, the majors cruised through bracket play and beat South Beaverton for the state title.

“Definitely nerve-wracking,” Guiney said. “It's been a lot of work, but the girls got out there and they played fantastic, which obviously calmed our nerves.”

The team of 10- through 12-year-olds had goals to make regionals, but they had more team-centric priorities first.

“‘We had a deal at the beginning of the season, we had the girls go and write down five goals for themselves,” Guiney said. “The very first goal they wrote down was to become a close-knit team, like a family.”

Janelle chimed in on how important the family aspect is.

“If you’re not close with your team, then it's really hard to get the plays and to cheer and to pump your teammates up,” Janelle said. “Being close has helped us come together to beat the other teams.”

If they win, they’ll move on to the Little League World Series in North Carolina.

Janelle said, “If we start hitting and we keep coming together as a team and keep our confidence up, we can. But it's also a little nerve-wracking, because we haven’t seen these teams before, and they’re like the best of their state, too.” 

The girls leave Sky View Elementary Thursday at 8 a.m. on a charter bus, thanks to Mike's Fence Center.

Their first game is Saturday at noon, streaming on ESPN+.