Boston Caron, third from right, carried a .590 batting average and earned a championship MVP bat — one of seven awarded among the 17 teams at the tournament.

GIRARDEAU, Missouri — A regional prep baseball team finished runner-up in the Babe Ruth League World Series aided by two former Ilwaco Fishermen all-stars.

Kaemon Sawa and Boston Caron, both 2024 graduates of Ilwaco High School, helped the Kelso Premier Babe Ruth League All-Star team reach the championship game last weekend in Missouri, where they ultimately lost 1-0 to Alabama.

Sawa, a standout lefty on the mound for the Fishermen over the past few seasons, was joined by fellow teammate Caron, a catcher and former Pacific League MVP. Both continued their excellence during the summer regional and national tournaments, with Caron carrying a .590 batting average and earning a championship MVP bat — one of seven awarded among the 17 teams at the tournament. Sawa became a dependable closer over the course of the summer and was counted on in the championship tournament, pitching valuable innings against Alabama, South Carolina and Kansas.

During the tournament, Kelso Premier, representing the Pacific Northwest, defeated Salinas, Kansas 12-0 in the first game, followed by a 10-0 shutout win over Canada and a narrow 4-3 victory over Lexington, Kentucky, allowing the team to reach the final four. They suffered their first loss to Alabama, 14-0, before rebounding with a 5-3 win over Virgina and a 6-4 victory over South Carolina, forcing a rematch with Alabama for the championship, which they ended up losing 1-0.

It was the first time the Kelso-based team represented the Pacific Northwest for the World Series tournament, held Aug. 8-16 in Missouri, including teams from Aruba, Mexico, Netherlands, Australia, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, among other regional teams around the U.S.