Shoemaker surges as River Dogs cruise through Sea Dogs

Columbia Basin wins first game of High Desert Baseball Tournament with 10-1 win

As the River Dogs continue to dominate in the diamond, new faces emerge as stars for Columbia Basin

This time, Derek Shoemaker and Severo Rodriguez shared the spotlight in Columbia Basin's 10-1 win against the Sea Dogs in game one of the High Desert Baseball Tournament on Thursday. Shoemaker finished with a complete performance, allowing one run on six hits, while striking out three along the way.

Rodriguez moved to third in the batting lineup and took advantage of the new move. Rodriguez put the River Dogs on the board with an RBI double to left field in the first, followed with an RBI single in the second on a perfect 3-for-3 outing at the plate.

Columbia Basin manager Randy Boruff said Rodriguez need some adjustments to his swing and has been hitting the ball ever since.

"We told him that we have to have good play out of our shortstop and he has stepped up," Boruff said. "We are challenging him and making him accountable."

As for Shoemaker, he has become the ace of the River Dog pitching staff and hasn't slowed down since his no-hit performance that started the season.

His five innings on Thursday, added to his move from the shadows to the No. 1 kid on the River Dogs staff.

"It has always been Hunter, it has always been Hill and Sidwell and Shoemaker has been in the background," Boruff said. "Life has a funny way of dishing out things. He is becoming a success story this summer and I am really happy for him."

Against a club that has a 27-6 record on the season and the River Dogs short on pitching arms, Boruff needed a near-perfect performance to pull out the win. Columbia Basin answered that call.

The defense gave up one error in the game and the River Dogs utilized speed to put runs on the board. Boruff tried the hit-and-run in the first inning and moved Brady Lamb to third off the bat of Camron Iverson, setting up a run scoring opportunity for Rodriguez.

Hawkins Gebbers later drove in Iverson on a sacrifice fly to left field and Rodriguez scored the final run of the inning on an error by the Sea Dogs third baseman.

The River Dogs didn't let up. With one out in the second inning, Derek O'Konek got an infield single, stole second and scored on Lamb's single to right field. Lamb later scored on a Rodriguez single to center field.

In the fourth, Brady Lamb sacrificed Kyle Chamberlain and O'Konek to second and third and Iverson came through with a two-run single to pull away from the Sea Dogs with a 7-0 lead. The Sea Dogs avoided a shutout in the top of the fifth with a run, but Kyle Wilmot came up with a game-ending single in the bottom of the fifth to score Brad Tracy and Chamberlain to end the game at 10-1.

While Columbia Basin's offensive production included 10 runs and 12 hits, Boruff said the team didn't run the bases as aggressive as they needed to against a high-caliber team like the Sea Dogs.

Citing Chamberlain's stop at second base in the fourth inning with the hit-and-run in place, Lamb, who was 2-for-2 at that point, had to lay down a bunt to put both runners in scoring position.

"I am trying to prepare our team for later on," Boruff said. "We head to a big tournament over the fourth of July and then we face Port Angeles in the state tournament."

The River Dogs continue action today at Paul Lauzier Complex at 10 a.m.