Area baseball teams headed to state tourneys
American Legion baseball in Spokane is in full swing. District playoffs concluded Sunday and the teams are set and are preparing for the state tournament that begins Saturday. Five teams from the Spokane area are going to state, two each from the A and AA divisions and one AAA team.
The Spokane Northstars will represent Spokane in the AAA tournament, but their success didn’t come easy. The Northstars lost 11-1 to the Spokane Cannons in the first of two championships games Sunday. Cannons’ starter Justin Marlow pitched brilliantly, allowing only one run and five hits. Brett Richardson had two hits for the Cannons, including a three-run home run in the bottom of the third. In the second game, the Northstars scored eight runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to hold off the Cannons 11-6 and advance to the state tournament. Taylor McMahon had three hits for the Northstars and Eric Kelly added two hits, including a double.
After beating Mt. Spokane 5-4 in a walk-off thriller on Sunday, University will be the No. 1 seed at the AA state tournament and will play a doubleheader against Kennewick on Saturday in Pullman. Mt. Spokane will be the No. 2 seed and will play in Colfax against Richland. In the bottom of the seventh, Ben Borgman broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI single that scored Travis Clark to win the game for University. Borgman finished with two hits and two RBIs for University. Billy Moon picked up the win, improving to 9-1, and went 3 for 3 at the plate with an RBI and run scored. The AA tournament will include 16 teams, eight of which will be playing in Colfax and the other eight in Pullman. The top teams from the two brackets will then play for the championship.
Freeman/Liberty and Gonzaga Prep are the top-seeded teams to advance in the A division and will be heading to Mt. Vernon to play in the 8-team state tournament, also beginning on Saturday. In the championship game, with Gonzaga Prep leading 6-5 in the top of the seventh, Freeman/Liberty’s Tyler Ford singled, stole second and third, and scored on a passed ball to tie the game 6-6. Then in the top of the 9th, Steven Burke’s single scored Abe Mega to give Freeman/Liberty a 7-6 lead. Ford then shut down Gonzaga Prep’s offense in the bottom of the inning, giving his team the win.
• The Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen American Legion baseball team captured the Area A district championship Sunday, qualifying for the state tournament. Coeur d’Alene topped the defending state champ Lewis-Clark Twins 14-4 in the final.
In an earlier game Sunday, the Lumbermen eliminated Sandpoint 16-3. Both Coeur d’Alene and Lewis-Clark advance to state, which begins Friday in Boise. The Lums will take on the host Boise Seminoles in an opener.
Climbing
After their fifth-place finishes at the USA Climbing Nationals, Spokane’s Melissa Main and Bryan Brenize have been named to the U.S. National Climbing Team and will compete at the World Youth Climbing Championships in Imst, Austria Aug. 24-28.
Golf
Spokane’s Dustin Poe, a senior at Ferris High School, will represent the state of Washington at the IIAJC National Golf Tournament July 30-Aug. 3 at the Odessa Country Club in Odessa, Texas. He will be competing with the top junior golfers in the United States.
Shooting
Landt Farms Youth Shotgun Team members J.R. Snodgrass and Bryce Purdy shot successfully at the Oregon State Sporting Clays Championships July 20-23 in Brooks, Oregon.
Purdy, 11, competed in the Subjunior Division and won first place in the 410-gauge, 28-gauge and 20-guage events. He was also first in his class in the 5-Stand event.
Snodgrass, 14, placed 4th in the 5-Stand event and tied with Purdy in the preliminary 100 targets event.
Soccer
Spokane’s Marissa Mykines, who recently was invited to the U.S. U-16 National Team camp in New Jersey, scored a goal for her national squad on July 15. Mykines goal came against the Arsenal World Class U-23 team, which the U.S. team beat 4-0.
The U.S. National Team played four games against the Arsenal U-18 and U-23 teams, winning three and tying in the other.
•Mead’s Chancellor Johnstone scored two goals and had two assists for his Washington Premier Football Club as they won the U-15 U.S. Soccer Club National Cup V Regional in Boise.
Chancellor and his WPFC teammates will travel next to Greensboro, N.C. to play in the U.S. Club Soccer National Cup V Finals starting Friday.
Softball
The Spokane Sliders captured the U-14 ASA Northwest Regional fastpitch championship Sunday as they topped Rip City of Oregon 2-1. Blake Meredith of Post Falls earned the win on the mound, allowing one run in seven innings while striking out five. The Sliders advance to the week-long national tourney Aug. 1 in Johnsonville, Tenn.
Volleyball
Four teams from Spokane and one from North Idaho competed and finished in the top half of their age divisions at the Volleyball Festival in Reno, Nev. June 23-30.
Spokane’s VIP team finished 11th in the U-17 division, which had a total of 94 teams. In the U-14 division, the North Idaho VBC Edge (Sandpoint) finished 21st. The Sideout and the Splash, both of Spokane, finished 27th and 40th, respectively, in the same division. Spokane’s other team was the Storm, who finished 45th in the U-16 division.