Won’t Find This Team In The Cellar

Idaho softball

Sports Cellar will be a team to watch at the 1995 Idaho state and Pacific Northwest Regional girls slowpitch softball tournaments this weekend in Coeur d’Alene.

The locals have won five straight state championships and four regional titles since they were 11-year-olds.

“The thing that’s helped us a lot the last few years is just playing together for so long,” Sports Cellar coach John Owen said. “We’ve been turning that double play over for six years. They’re bigger now and seem to be hitting the ball farther.”

Sports Cellar is one of nine teams in the 16-under division. There are 11 entries in the 14-U bracket and five 12-U teams.

There are no 18-U teams, which isn’t surprising considering Idaho high schools adopted fastpitch rules last spring.

“It’s kind of counterproductive,” Owen admitted. “These girls need to play fastpitch now. I suspect this is our last hurrah together. It’s real good you can keep that many girls together for so long.”

Sports Cellar’s nucleus includes Lindsay Herbert (pitcher), Katie Hatrock (third base), Angie Sauer (second), Andrea Wilkey (first), Angie Foster (left field), Nicole Owen (catcher/pitcher) and Allison Gerzina (third/outfield).

“These girls are pretty businesslike,” coach Owen said. “They get down and slide, hit the cutoffs. They don’t throw behind runners.”

Opening ceremonies at Ramsey Park are set for Saturday morning at 8. The 16-U and 12-U title games will be played at Ramsey on Sunday at 12:45 p.m., with the 14-U final at the same time at McEuen Field.

The top three placers in each division qualify for national tournaments.

I-90 slowpitch A series

Western Truck Brokers of Post Falls won eight of nine games over the weekend in Great Falls, Mont., en route to the title of the Big Sky I-90 men’s A slowpitch series.

WTB twice defeated four-time Montana state champion Matzinger’s of Bozeman, 11-9 and 23-13, in the finale.

Marlin Harris (.778, 11 home runs), Tim Floyd (.769, 10 HR) and Mike Olsen (.750) sparked WTB offensively.

“You can not play in Montana and play from behind,” said WTB player/manager Kim Martin. “The teams are so much better from top to bottom. They’re excellent teams. They’re older ballplayers. They play very well.”

It was WTB’s third Montana stop, including a second place in the 140-team men’s and women’s Goosetown Invitational in Anaconda and a fourth place in Bozeman.

“It’s great to go to Montana,” Martin added. “The umpiring is tremendous. There’s integrity in the game.”

Tournaments

Pub 41 of Post Falls was the sole local winner in four slowpitch tournaments played over the weekend at Ramsey Park in Coeur d’Alene and Quad Park in Post Falls.

Rich Dakan led Pub 41 past Weber Construction of Seattle, 9-7, in the if-necessary finale of the Fourth Quarter/Bobby Miller Memorial men’s C tournament at Quad.

Tom Rosseau of Spokane went undefeated in the women’s C/D portion of that tournament.

Washington teams prevailed at Ramsey. Home Decor Center of Arlington took the T.W. Fisher’s Invitational men’s D title, and the Red Wolf Coed Invitational title belonged to Buffalo Club of Medical Lake.

At least 34 teams will battle in the men’s D Steve’s Sports Dugout tournament at Quad this weekend.

The ninth annual Paddy’s Invitational draws men’s C teams to Ramsey this weekend.