RiverDogs claim NW Prep Tournament title
Davis Engel didn't get to pitch this weekend, but it didn't keep him from watching his teammates win the Northwest Prep Tournament title played at Big Bend CC.
MOSES LAKE - They may not have been playing at their home, Johnson-O'Brien Stadium, but the Columbia Basin RiverDogs baseball team felt right at home at Big Bend Community College this weekend during the Northwest Prep Tournament,
The RiverDogs (31-19) went 5-1 in round-robin play to capture first place of the senior tournament completed yesterday.
In Ellensburg, the junior team for the RiverDogs, the Desert Dogs, went 3-3 overall and ended their season at 31-18.
"I think we understand our team strengths better," RiverDogs manager Randy Boruff said. "We run the bases well and get good pitching. We are competitive and playing better and so I think we'll be ready when all rolls around."
Since starting off the season at 18-15, the RiverDogs are 14-4 during the last three weeks of play as the Babe Ruth Series approaches. The RiverDogs host the event in Ephrata starting Aug. 6.
It was a good result this weekend considering they dropped a 3-2 decision in the tourney opener on Thursday to the Spokane Crew.
Josh Snider (Ephrata HS) pitched well in the lost and had two hits.
"We came out kind of flat," Boruff said. "Josh pitched, for the most part, pretty well, but we just didn't hit the ball very well and couldn't get any clutch hits."
The team got hot the next day as they earned their first win of the weekend via a 10-5 win over the Seattle Titans.
Seth Darling (Cle Elum) pitched five innings for the win, while Ricco Moreno (Big Bend/Moses Lake) had three hits and two RBI, while Stockton Taylor (Brewster) had two hits and two RBI.
A five-run sixth inning keyed the RiverDogs' win.
"We played with a lot more energy," Boruff said.
They wrapped up play on day two with a 6-4 win over Eastside Baseball Club (Bellevue).
A three-run third inning helped key the win as Bryton Redal (Moses Lake) and Chris Walker (Naches Valley) recorded big hits during the at-bat.
Walker and Johnny Navarro (Quincy) each had two hits while Jacob Yamane (Warden) hit a homer.
Luke Valdez (Moses Lake) continued his summer of strong pitching to earn the win.
They continued their strong play on Saturday by gaining some revenge on the Crew with a 6-0 win.
Mitch Yada (Moses Lake) pitched one of his stronger games of the summer as he tossed a two-hitter.
Tony Hernandez (Moses Lake), Redal, and Walker all ended up with two hits apiece.
"I thought in every game we were doing things better," Boruff said. "We got a good game pitched and getting four runs in the third inning was big with Redal getting a key two-RBI hit."
A 5-4 win over the Titans moved the RiverDogs to 4-1 on the weekend as they rallied from an early 3-1 deficit to win.
It was 3-1 heading into the fourth before the RiverDogs took a 4-3 lead.
The Titans tied things in the top of the seventh innings before the hosts came back again.
Navarro singled to get aboard and two batters later Taylor doubled him home to finish off the win.
Hernandez and Navarro each head two hits.
The icing on the cake came on Sunday as the team played arguably its best game of the six-game set, routing Eastside 10-0 behind an 11-hit attack.
Taylor pitched a two-hit shutout and also sparked the offense with a team-high three hits.
The RiverDogs were supposed to continue their season at the Portland Invitational but the event, set for this weekend, got cancelled.
Boruff said they are trying to schedule a few more games to help tune up the team before the World Series commences at Johnson-O'Brien Stadium.
The World Series will be the third one hosted in the Columbia Basin, with the most recent time the event took place was in 2009 at Moses Lake's Larson Field.
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