Taylor throws one-hitter as River Dogs cruise

EPHRATA — Brewster High School sophomore and River Dogs starting pitcher Stockton Taylor threw a one-hitter against the Seattle Pilots Friday afternoon as the River Dogs won three of four games over the weekend.

River Dogs manager Randy Boruff said he was happy to win three of four games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

“I feel really good about going 3-1 over the weekend,” he said. “I didn’t have (some) of my graduating seniors.”

With high school graduations depleting the River Dogs’ roster over the weekend, Boruff said he played with a limited squad.

“I had three junior college guys and the rest of them were young,” he said. “The rest were sophomores and juniors.”

The River Dogs jumped on the Pilots thanks in part to solid performances at the plate, and Taylor dominated Friday’s contest on the mound, Boruff said.

“Stockton — for a sophomore — has to be one of the better pitching sophomores in the state,” he said. “He will be pushing for one of the 18 spots on the World Series team.”

Taylor kept the Pilots guessing and Ephrata High School junior Bryce Todd led a potent River Dogs offense that scored nine runs on 10 hits.

Todd went 3-for-4 at the plate and junior college players Tyler Lesko and Jacob Lacelle each went 2-for-3 at the dish.

After the River Dogs cruised past the Pilots, the Columbia Basin team battled the weather and a tough Toyota team from the Kirkland, Wash., area before pulling out a 10-9 decision.

“We won Saturday night’s game in the bottom of the 10th (inning),” Boruff said.

The River Dogs found themselves trailing 9-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning before rallying for the victory, improving to 2-0 for the weekend.

“We scored five runs in the seventh to tie it,” Boruff said. “We won it on a base hit by Devon Lind who scored Chris Brunetti (in the tenth).”

Lesko led the offensive attack, going 3-for-5 at the plate and Moses Lake High School junior Dylan Signorelli hit a solo blast for the River Dogs.

Signorelli earned the win, pitching the last five inning of the contest.

Signorelli had a strong performance on the mound, and Moses Lake High School sophomore Cameron Alvarado had a strong performance in the field, Boruff said.

“Alvarado had a fantastic diving catch where he laid out to get the ball,” Boruff said.

The River Dogs wrapped up their weekend series Sunday with a doubleheader against Baden Baseball and North Corner Tribe of Marysville, Wash.

The River Dogs knocked off Baden Baseball 4-1.

Lesko earned the win on the hill and Brunetti hit a 2-run home run for the River Dogs. Todd added a triple and Lacelle scored a pair of runs in the victory.

After winning their first three games of the weekend, the River Dogs couldn’t find an answer for North Corner Tribe.

North Corner was able to capitalize on a tired River Dogs team to take the 10-1 victory, Boruff said.

“We were playing with a bunch of young guys,” he said. “They didn’t leave the ballpark until midnight (the night before) and had to be back at 8 a.m.”

The River Dogs won three of four over the weekend to improve to 11-3 overall and Boruff said he is impressed with his team at this point in the season.

“We haven’t played a game where all of our guys are here,” he said. “We probably won’t for a couple of weeks because of (summer activities).”

Moses Lake will host the 2009 16-18 Babe Ruth World Series Aug. 15 through Aug. 22 at Larson Playfield.