Curt Daniels Invitational baseball tourney being held at Union and Camas this week

Justin Taylor of the Vancouver Mavericks would hit a single on this pitch Wednesday at the Curt Daniels Invitational Baseball Tournament. The Mavericks, Coast to Coast out of Camas, and NW Futures of Vancouver, are three Clark County teams in the 10-team event hosted at Union High School and Camas High School this week. Photo by Paul Valencia

Baseball talent from the Northwest in Clark County this week to pay respect to the memory of Curt Daniels

The Curt Daniels Invitational is back, but not in its traditional location.

The club baseball tournament, featuring high school players and a few in college, started Wednesday and will continue through Sunday at Union High School and Camas High School.

Propstra Stadium, on the campus of Hudson’s Bay High School, was not available this week, so the tournament could not be played on Daniels Field this year.

Still, organizers say it is important to keep the tournament moving forward, teaching today’s baseball players about Clark County’s past.

“Curt was the guy who put Vancouver baseball on the map, as far as having a certain level of respect in the baseball community,” said Ben McGrew, the tournament director.

Daniels was a longtime high school coach at Columbia River and Hudson’s Bay. He also was a minor league coach who helped players such as Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith and former Oregon State coach Pat Casey. Daniels also was a major-league scout.

“When he came in, there was instant credibility for Vancouver baseball,” McGrew said. “It’s important to keep that going, here in Vancouver, that these kids know Curt.”

Daniels died after a battle with cancer in 2003. This is the 17th Curt Daniels Invitational.

One of the club teams this year, Vancouver-based NW Futures, is run by Nik Lubisich. Daniels was the scout who recommended that the Chicago White Sox draft Lubisich years ago. Now it’s Lubisich helping local talent on the diamond.

“Curt’s impact is still being felt whether people know it or not,” McGrew said.

There are four games at Union High School on Thursday. The first, featuring Coast to Coast, based out of Camas, vs. NW Futures, was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. The Vancouver Mavericks will play the last game of the day, at 5:30 p.m., against Baden.

In all, there are 10 teams from the Northwest playing in the annual Clark County event.

On Friday, there will be three games at Union, beginning at 12:30 p.m., and three games at Camas High School, also starting at 12:30. Saturday, it’s four games at each location, beginning at 10 a.m.

Camas will host the championship semifinals and finals on Sunday.

For a full schedule, go to: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M4kV24I9vkmkErGMmUbrBL4XDJ1NuN5_/edit