Sun Devils pull out seesaw championship game victory

SPOKANE VALLEY - They faced an offensive juggernaut at the University High School Kickoff Classic, 16-and-under baseball junior legion tournament this weekend but the Moses Lake Sun Devils would not falter.

In Sunday's championship game the Sun Devils locked bats with Mt. Spokane, who entered the title game outscoring their first three opponents 38-3.

But none of those clubs were called the Sun Devils.

That may be why when the dust settled the team leaving U-High hailed from Moses Lake as the Sun Devils held on for a tense 7-6 win to claim the top trophy of the weekend long tournament.

"We relied on solid and timely hitting as well as strong pitching," Sun Devils head coach Mark Rust said.

In the championship game, the Sun Devils (4-0) were led by Blake Springer's 4-for-5, two RBI effort. Chase Tunstall and Jacob Williams each had two hits apiece to aid the attack.

Mt. Spokane scored first with a run in the first inning, but the Sun Devils answered with a Drew Loera double that drove in Brett Moser to make it 1-1.

Moses Lake then fell behind 3-1 in the top of the second before once again rallying with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame.

In the top of the fourth, Mt. Spokane made the score 6-3 off of four hits.

The Sun Devils, comprised of Moses Lake High School players, cut the gap to 6-4 when Springer singled in Jacob Williams.

Then the game was tied up in the bottom of the sixth inning on Springer's two RBI single.

They stayed tied going into the ninth inning and the Sun Devils came up big in spots to keep it that way.

"We stayed tied due to good pitching and solid defense with a crucial double play to end a threat in the 8th," Rust said.

In the deciding half of the ninth, Jordan LaCelle walked and was substituted for pinch runner, fellow Sun Devil, Eric Rios. Adrian Hernandez moved Rios to second with a bunt and Moser advanced the lead runner 90 more feet with an infield hit.

Then Rust got gutsy and the Sun Devils called for a double steal and Rios made it home to cement the championship.

Chase Tunstall pitched eight innings for the Moses Lake squad, striking out six, walking three, and allowing 12 hits. Loera pitched the ninth inning for the win.

In their opening game of the tournament, Moses Lake rolled over Lewis and Clark 9-0. Williams went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scores. Loera added a triple with two RBI and Moser knocked out a triple while scoring three times. Loera scattered three hits over five innings to earn the win. Cole Raymond pitched two innings in relief.

They followed that shutout victory with an 11-1 rout of Spokane Valley. The Sun Devils belted out 12 hits with Springer going 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Raymond had two hits and three RBI while Williams, Loera and Spencer Street all adding two hits apiece. Street pitched five innings allowing one unearned run for the win.

Then the Sun Devils set up their championship game appearance by beating the hosts 13-10 in an offense slugfest.

Moses Lake finished with 15 hits, five stolen bases and a triple play.

Tunstall went 4-for-5 with four RBI. Three of his hits came with two outs. Loera ended his game with two doubles, a triple and six RBI with five of those coming around to score with two outs.

Moser had three hits and scored three times, Williams touched home four times and knocked out two hits while Springer had two hits and two RBI.

Anthony Rios started and three 4.1 innings. Moser finished for the Sun Devils, throwing 2.2 while allowing two earned runs to earn the win.

Tomorrow, the Sun Devils host Pasco at Larson Field for a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m.