RiverDogs open up season with title game loss

EPHRATA - The Columbia Basin River Dogs  opened the 2011 summer baseball season by finishing second at the Memorial Baseball Classic at Johnson-O'Brien Stadium in Ephrata.

The River Dogs went 3-1 in pool play to reach the semifinal contest against Vancouver Showtime and scored an 8-1 win to reach the title game against Chaffey Baseball of Seattle. The finale went eight innings before Chaffey pulled out a 2-1 win.

The River Dogs (4-2) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the title game when Matt Benner (Big Bend CC) scored off an RBI single by David Garza (Othello). But Chaffey tied the game in the fourth inning, then got three walks and a single from Cody Reed ((Everett CC) to get the win.

Columbia Basin got to the championship game with a semifinal win over the Showtime Black squad from Vancouver, Wash., 8-1. The Dogs took a 6-0 lead in the first three innings and were never seriously challenged as Cameron Alvarado (Moses Lake High School) went 2 for 3 at the plate.

The Dogs opened the weekend on a high note, putting a 14-5 beating on the Showtime-Red team from Vancouver, Wash. Showtime took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the River Dogs score 11 times in the 

last three innings to get the win.

Ricco Moreno (Moses Lake, Big Bend CC) hit two doubles and drove in two runs, while Connor Hamilton (Othello, Big Bend) added two hits. 

Stockton Taylor (Brewster) and Chris Walker (Naches Valley) both homered for the River Dogs.

But the Dogs ran into a solid Chaffey team Saturday and suffered a 15-1 loss as the Seattle club broke a 1-1 tie with 14 runs in the final three innings of the game. Hamilton and Alvarado had the only hits of the ballgame for Columbia Basin as Bishop Blanchet High left-hander Max Engelbreckt tossed a two-hitter with four strikeouts.

The River Dogs bounced back with an 18-5 win over Bellevue Honda Sunday morning, scoring 11 times in the third inning to put the game out of reach. Cody Johns (Naches Valley) tossed a six-hitter to get the win on the mound, while Tony Hernandez (Moses Lake) finished with three hits, and Alvarado and Benner both hit home runs.

In the final game of pool play, the River Dogs got a dramatic 11-10 victory over Showtime-Black, scoring five times in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the ballgame. The biggest shot for Columbia Basin came from Hamilton, who powered a grand slam home run with two out to cap the rally.

Moreno had two hits in the ballgame, while Alvarado and Seth Darling (Cle Elum, Spokane Falls CC) also homered for the River Dogs.

"We've been trying to find who our core guys are going to be, who can and who can't play with us," said River Dogs manager Randy Boruff. "We've got 13 guys who will be on the senior team, and eight more on 

the junior team right now who may or may not make it."

The River Dogs' White team was in competition during the tournament in the junior division, playing games Saturday in Ephrata and Sunday in Ellensburg. The junior Dogs went 3-1 in pool play and are playing in the title round of their division today - further details were unavailable.

The tournament opened a season for the River Dogs that will end with Columbia Basin hosting the 2011 Senior Babe Ruth World Series Aug. 6-13 at Johnson-O'Brien Stadium in Ephrata.