Tualatins Ryan Schurman and Ryan Shoun are coaches for the Australian team

TIGARD — For Ryan Schurman and Ryan Shoun, it was a homecoming of sorts.

But it sure wasn’t a short trip back to the local area.

And they didn’t come alone.

Schurman and Shoun, both Tualatin High School graduates and standout baseball players for the Timberwolves, were back in the local area in July — traveling from the other side of the planet to get here.

Schurman and Shoun, along with former Jesuit High School standout Steve Fish, were in Tigard last month as coaches for the Perth Heat Colts baseball teams from Australia.

“This has been fantastic,” Shoun, 36, said as one of the Heat squads was playing the Tigard Longhorns OIBA squad. “It’s been great working with Ryan and Steve.”

Schurman, Shoun and Fish were in the local area as part of a tour the Perth Heat Colts program — which included two varsity-level teams and one junior varsity team — was taking throughout Oregon.

“It’s fun to be back,” said Schurman, 35, who pitched in the Atlanta Braves organization after graduating from Tualatin High School. “It’s been a great opportunity.”

Among the highlights of the tour were the games at Tigard played on July 5.

It certainly looked to be a highlight for Longhorns assistant coach Ron Dyer, who coached at Tualatin High School when Schurman and Shoun played there.

“It’s really rewarding for me to see our former players and what they’re doing,” Dyer said. “I’m excited to talk to them and see what they’re going through. I also think it’s fun for our kids to see baseball from another part of the world. I’m hoping we can learn from this experience.”

Going back down under

Fish, a former Jesuit pitcher who played in the Los Angeles Angels system, got the local connection started with the Australia organization.

Fish, who had family in Australia, returned to the country to continue his playing career, pitching for the Perth Heat adult baseball team.

“Fish went down there in 2002,” Schurman said. “He played there and had a great time.”

“I retired from pro ball a little after that,” said Fish, 37. “But I had family there, so I stayed there.”

Fish then became the director of player development for the Perth Heat organization in addition to becoming a scout for the Boston Red Sox.

“Then I came back over and got Ryan,” Fish said in regard to his friend Schurman.

“I was 28 when he asked me to go to Western Australia,” Schurman said. “It was a chance to see the world. I played there in the state league and then I got into coaching.”

Later on, Shoun got in touch with Schurman.

“I talked with him about it and said ‘I’m coming with you,’” said Shoun, who, like Schurman, is living in Australia on a work visa.

A different game

It didn’t take long for Schurman and Shoun to see the difference between baseball in the United States and in Australia.

“They didn’t have much game time, or game experience,” Schurman said.

“They just don’t play enough games over there,” Fish said. “We try to get the kids to make the commitment to play baseball.”

“The numbers are increasing,” Shoun said. “The younger kids are now coming through with the fundamentals and the verbiage.”

Now, in addition to teaching the fundamentals of the game, the local coaches are helping the Australian players continue their baseball careers to the collegiate levels.

“We’ve had 27 players from Perth go on to play college baseball,” Fish said. “It’s great to see the kids move on. The idea is to get these kids to play college baseball.”

The tour

This is the third year that the Perth Heat Colts have had a summer tour in the United States. Two years ago, the teams toured Oregon. Last year, the teams, sponsored by Fielder’s Choice in Sherwood, toured the east coast before returning to Oregon this year.

“It’s been great,” said Perth coach Rod Drew, an Australian making his first United States tour with the teams. “I’m like a kid in a candy store. I love baseball and this has been a dream come true.”

In this year’s tour, the Perth Heat Colts players got to see a Major League Baseball game, and they got to meet Australians Grant Balfour and Travis Blackley, who pitch for the Oakland Athletics.

The teams’ tour moved throughout Oregon, including the July 5 stop at Tigard, where all three Perth Heat Colts teams were in action, in addition to having a barbecue by the Tigard High School field.

“It’s great being back here in Tigard,” Schurman said. “We use some of the same things that Coach Dyer taught us — don’t forget your cleats.”

“Those guys were fun to coach,” Dyer said. “They were always competitive.”

Visiting America

The Perth players enjoyed their stay in the local area — and not just for the quality of baseball they experienced.

“It’s been amazing,” said Mitch Neunborn, 15, who is an infielder for Perth. “The baseball over here is very good.

“Staying with the host families has been fun. And the shopping here is great. We got to go to the Nike store.”

“I love it,” said Perth pitcher Roy Hotvedt, 18, whose favorite pitcher is Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants. “Getting to play every day has been a great opportunity. We get to play just six hours a week in Australia. And we love American girls. They’re amazing.

“They get to play baseball every day here, so we’re learning a lot.”

The games

The Tigard Longhorns picked up a 3-0 win over the Perth Heat Colts B varsity team in the July 5 game. But the Australian squad had its share of highlights, including a pair of hits by speedy 13-year-old phenom Joshua Diggins.

Meanwhile, the Tigard players also enjoyed the experience.

“It’s still just baseball,” said Tigard’s Correy Pizer, who was the winning pitcher in the contest. “But it was fun. It was a different experience. It was nice to meet them.”

“It was definitely cool to play them, since they’re from a another part of the world,” Tigard’s Jake Biglow said.

That may be true, but it’s Australian baseball with a touch of Tualatin mixed in.