RiverDogs tinker with lineup in Wenatchee split

WENATCHEE - As the summer baseball season moves into full swing the 30-plus man roster of the Columbia Basin RiverDogs program will have plenty of room to jockey for top spots in the lineup.

Yes, some spots are anchored by proven veterans and talents, but some are still up in the air and that's when a doubleheader like last night's at Wenatchee could make a difference in manager Randy Boruff determining what's what with his lineup.

The RiverDogs exerted their dominance in game one, winning 8-1 with their full complement of arms and bats but dropped the nightcap, 8-3, with many younger players getting a crack at showing their skills.

In the first game, the RiverDogs (10-4) rode the arm of Stockton Taylor (Brewster) who threw a complete game and stuck out four while scattering six hits over the seven innings.

"Stockton hadn't pitched for two weeks and he was a little rusty," Boruff said. "We pitched him because he's going to the All-State game to play as a non-pitcher. He's a very smart pitcher and holds runners really well. He has a filthy slider."

Taylor had to feel comfortable with an offense that gave him plenty of breathing room.

The RiverDogs scored twice in the first inning off of a Josh Snider (Ephrata) two-run single and then built the lead to 5-0 in the third when Snider knocked in two more teammates with a triple.

Snider finished 2-for-4 with four RBI.

"Josh has come into his own," Boruff said. "He competes and puts the bat on the ball and he's seeing the ball very well. He's a baseball junkie. This kid lives at the ballpark 24 hours a day. He has baseball savvy about him and he believes he's pretty good and he wants to be good."

Warden Cougar senior Jacob Yamane went 2-for-3 and added two more RBI in the RiverDogs' three run fourth inning that wrapped up the scoring.

In the loss to the host Packers, Tanner Williams (Ephrata) started but struggled and the RiverDogs couldn't get into the groove against a strong Wenatchee arm.

"They threw a junior college pitcher at us who wasn't bad and I played some of our younger guys," Boruff said. "If we played our top guys and played Wenatchee 10 times we would beat them seven or so times. We can play with anybody with our full lineup. We don't have a dominant offense so we have to be patient. I would say there are five positions that are sewn up and some others we are competing for. So we are looking for some players to rise to the occasion."

The RiverDogs had five hits with Taylor leading the way with two of them.

Also, Boruff hopes that his rotation can strengthen itself at the number four and five spots.

"We also just need to see how good we are when we don't have a dominant pitcher on the mound," Boruff said.