River Dogs capture Classic title game

River Dogs player Bryce Todd (right) of Ephrata High School hustles down to first base and forces an error by the Kitsap first baseman in yesterday’s High Desert Classic title game. The River Dogs took the crown in an 8-4 win.

by Alan Dale<br> Herald Sports Editor
| June 28, 2010 12:28 PM

EPHRATA — The Columbia Basin River Dogs’ Babe Ruth split baseball squads had quite the showing this weekend at their own High Desert Classic.

The main River Dogs team battled Kitsap Baseball in yesterday’s championship game at Johnson/O’Brien Stadium and defeated their guests 8-4 to take the title.

They and Perros del Rio — the younger players of the program and other half of the split squad — went a combined 9-2 in the tournament and are now 32-13 overall.

Cody John (Naches Valley HS) pitched the final three innings to record the win and gave up only one unearned run to seal the title.

A four-run bottom of the fourth inning gave the River Dogs a 5-3 lead after Kitsap had maintained the edge up until that point.

“It was our stellar defense and our starters not walking people,” Jerry Henderson the River Dogs’ team coordinator said. “They have a tough demeanor and they are pretty unruffled when faced with adversity.”

Brett Gray (Big Bend CC) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Cameron Alvarado finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. The River Dogs set up their place in the Blue Division Final over the three previous days of action.

On Thursday, they defeated North Corner Tribe (Everett) 10-2.

Josh Snider (Moses Lake High School) pitched a complete game to earn the victory as he struck out seven batters.

Big Bend Community College’s Matt Herbert batted 4-for-4 with two doubles and scored three runs.

Stockton Taylor (Brewster HS) went 3-for-3 and scored three runs while registering three RBI.

Cameron Alvarado (Moses Lake HS) went 2-for-2 with three RBI, his Chiefs teammate Dylan Signorelli finished 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

They won two games on Friday winning 5-0 over the Vancouver Coyotes behind the three-hit shutout pitching performance of Cody John (Natches Valley HS). He struck out seven to key the complete game victory.

Herbert went 2-for-2 with an RBI triple and Alvarado hit a solo home run.

They then moved to 3-0 with a narrow 8-7 victory over Kitsap Baseball.

Othello High School’s Shon Valdez hit a fourth inning grand slam to help the River Dogs pull out the win

Herbert and Signorelli each had two hits an Bryce Todd (Ephrata HS) picked up the victory with two scoreless innings of relief pitching.

The River Dogs completed their unbeaten pool play with two wins on Saturday.

They took down Reality Sports (Tacoma) in a 4-3 win.

Davis Engel (Ellensburg) pitched a complete game, allowing only one earned run, while Todd and Morris each had two hits.

Their 5-0 pool record was completed with a 6-2 win over Northwest Krush (Auburn).

Kody Samuels (Moses Lake HS) went the distance to earn the win and Herbert and Engel popped out two hits to spearhead the team’s batting attack.

Perros del Rio’s White Division Classic showing started Thursday with a 6-3 win over the Columbia River Kings.

Pitcher Joel Greear (Ellensburg HS). Greear allowed only one earned run over six innings and the offense was sparked by Snider who went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI and Spencer Lee (Cashmere HS) who had a three RBI double.

They then split a doubleheader with Team Fitness (Snohomish) on Friday, beating them 10-7 in the first game before losing the nightcap 6-3.

Tyler Morris (Ellensburg HS) hit a two-run homerun and Snider and Lee each had two hits and a double apiece in the win.

Tony Hernandez (Moses Lake HS), Chris Walker (Naches HS), and Tyler Morris each had two hits in the nightcap defeat.

The Perros split another doubleheader on Friday by losing game one to the Kent Bulldogs 12-4 before bouncing back to win the second contest 7-2.

Lee had a two-run double in the opener and two hits in the win.

Tanner Williams (Ephrata HS) dominated from the mound in the second game with a complete game effort, while Brett Lopez (Moses Lake HS), Walker and Snider all had two hits.

“You combine our tough pitching, good hitting, and our team speed it’s a great formula to win with,” Henderson said.