River Dogs win Basin battle, trip to Nationals

16-year-olds to compete in Virginia in two weeks for national crown

It was contest between the River Dogs and the Underdogs, and when the dust settled the Junior River Dogs 7-6 win earned them a trip to Virginia to play in the national championship.

The River Dogs were undefeated in the regional tournament, capping off the weekend with a nail-biter over the Columbia Basin All Stars at Larson Playfield.

The River Dogs breezed through the first six innings and held a 7-1 lead heading into the bottom of the last inning. After striking out the first batter, pitcher Jorge Reyes ran into trouble — surrendering a single, a walk, and then a double. Reyes coaxed an unassisted putout to the first baseman, then All Stars' second baseman Matt Weigel reached base on a sharp ground ball that went for an error.

The All Stars knocked three straight singles, and the All Stars inched closer and closer, until they had the tying run 180 feet away.

"I had a lot of faith in my pitcher," said Junior River Dogs' Coach Chuck Hansen. "He's a gamer. I went out and talked to him and he said his heart was going about 200 miles per hour because he wanted to win really badly."

Reyes then registered a called strike three that made the River Dogs Virginia-bound.

The River Dogs jumped out to an early lead in the second inning, capitalizing off of a lead-off double by Eric Sorensen, two walks and a hit batsman. They scored five consecutive runners before the All Stars could retire the side.

Mike Ratigan, the tournament's MVP, pitched four trouble-free innings. He allowed only one run and three hits. He picked runners off of the basepaths in the second and third innings.

The River Dogs tallied an insurance run in the fifth. After the All Stars were unable to take advantage of bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, the River Dogs pushed one more run across thanks to a Brodie McCormack pinch-hit RBI double.

It was insurance they would desperately need.

"It was a battle," Hansen said. "That was a good club over there. They could beat a lot of teams. That Stars team, they're no slouch."

The All Stars, an invited team composed of players from the Basin, were a surprise addition to the championship game.

"If you would have told me a week ago when we put this team together that we would be second even playing in the championship, it would have been hard to swallow," said All Stars' Coach Bill Walker. "But once we started practicing with these kids, they came together and had a lot of fun together. There was no pressure on us."

Walker said the All Stars really wanted a chance to beat the River Dogs.

"A lot of these kids had an opportunity to try out and play on (the River Dogs) and they didn't make it," he said. "So it was a personal battle against them. We were hoping to play against them and it turned out that way and it was a good ball game."

The All Stars were buoyed by a 2 for 4 performance from Nick Ashley.

"I was really impressed with Nick Ashley," Walker said. "In my mind he was the MVP of our team. He had a big clutch hit at the end of this game and did an outstanding job for us."

The Junior River Dogs marched into the championship game, crushing Idaho 13-3 and Southern Washington 10-0.

Trailing midway through their final qualifier against Calgary, they capitalized on their opponent's sloppy defense and used some trick base-running to pull away with the 11-8 win.

The Junior River Dogs now turn their attention to the 16-year-old Babe Ruth National Tournament in Virginia.

Hansen said he is going to scrimmage in the next to weeks in order to iron out any wrinkles he sees in his team's play.

"We're a good, solid team," he said. "But we've got a lot of things we are going to firm up before we leave. "

He said he will not add anyone to his roster before heading to nationals.

"The guys I have here are my guys," he said, adding that he likes the team's chances to take it all. "I think our chances are a good as anybody's."