Shoemaker, offense seal victory
Members of the river dogs celebrate a home run by Derek Shoemaker, No. 17, in the second game of the 2005 Babe Ruth Pacific Northwest Senior Regional tournament on Thursday, July 28, 2005, in Ephrata, Wash. From left to right, Jorge Reyes, Chad Hunter, Shoemaker and Brad Tracy.<br>David Smithburg/Columbia Basin Herald
Pitcher throws complete game, helped by seven run burst in third inning
NEWARK, Ohio — Baseball was sweet for the River Dogs on Saturday in Newark, Ohio.
All the facets of their game, pitching, hitting and defense, came together en route to a game one win over the Cincinnati Storm in the Babe Ruth Senior World Series, by a score of 9-3.
Derek Shoemaker, the rock steady and undefeated pitcher for Columbia Basin, scattered six hits and three runs over seven innings. He also had five strikeouts.
Edward Rodriguez and Hawkins Gebbers, of the River Dogs, each had three hits for the offense. Two of Rodriguez's hits were a triple and a home run.
"I was pleased the kids came back against a two-run bomb," head coach Randy Boruff said.
In the first inning, Tony Campana started the game off for Cincinnati with a single. Josh Davis followed him with a home run to right field and a quick 2-0 lead for the Storm.
The River Dogs did not answer back until the second time through the lineup. In the third inning, leadoff hitter Kyle Wilmot hit a double to get things started for the Dogs. Curran Redal, Hawkins Gebbers, Sonny Garza and Edward Rodriguez followed with consecutive singles. The outburst propelled the Dogs to a 5-2 lead over the Storm.
They did not finish there. Still in the third inning, catcher Brad Tracy stepped to the plate with one runner on base and belted a home-run for the Dogs sixth and seventh runs of the inning and game.
Assisting the Dogs in the third were two errors from the Cincinnati defense.
Shoemaker was well in control at that point. He gave up just one more run in the game. It came from the Storm's Ryan Noe in the fourth inning, with no runners on base.
Rodriguez got his third hit, a home run, in the sixth inning with one runner on base. It gave the Dogs their final margin of victory, 9-3.
Next up for the River Dogs is the Southeast Regional champions from Mobile, Ala. They play at 7:30 p.m. EST.