River Dogs' winning streak snapped at 22

WALLA WALLA — After stretching their winning streak to 22 games, the Columbia Basin River Dogs finally faltered in last weekend's Walla Walla Bears Senior Babe Ruth Tournament.

The River Dogs reached the championship game after five consecutive victories, but fell 6-5 in 10 innings to King Nissan of Bellingham. The loss ended a winning streak the River Dogs' program hadn't seen in a long time.

"That's the longest win streak since 1994," River Dogs manager Randy Boruff said Monday.

Columbia Basin opened the tournament last Thursday with a 9-3 victory over Pendleton, Ore. Moses Lake's Corey Hitchcock pitched well to earn the victory.

The River Dogs followed that up with an 8-4 win against RBI Baseball of Tacoma as Zack Swart of Naches picked up the victory. The River Dogs then won 6-2 over the Kent Bulldogs and 4-3 over the Vancouver Athletics. In the semifinals, Columbia Basin pounded the Washington Nationals of Redmond 11-4.

Ephrata native Derrick Webb had an outstanding offensive weekend, Boruff noted, picking up 10 hits over the six-game tournament. Columbia Basin improved its season mark to 36-8.

The River Dogs are back in action Thursday, hosting the River Dog Invitational at Ephrata High School through Saturday. Columbia Basin opens the event at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday against Lakeside Recovery. Boruff said the tournament would be a good tune-up prior to the Babe Ruth regional tournament, which begins July 26.