RiverDogs go a positive 0-5 in Oregon

SALEM, Ore. - Yes, the Columbia Basin RiverDogs did indeed struggle this past weekend in Oregon.

Sure they went 0-5 at the Willamette Classic in Salem, Ore.

But make no mistake, according to their manager Randy Boruff, the five-day trip south was just what the doctor may have ordered in getting their team reading for the next six weeks of play leading up to the Babe Ruth World Series to be held in Ephrata starting Aug. 6.

"It was a good 0-5 because we got to practice for 10 hours during our time here and we played against a lot of good hitting teams which our pitchers learned to adjust to," Boruff said. "If we had played seven innings we would have gone 3-2 but we played American Legion rules and had to go 9 innings."

Since the Classic was an American Legion tournament, the teams also used a designated hitter in place of the pitcher.

The tournament started on Wednesday as the RiverDogs (15-11) fell 8-6 to the Salem Dodgers.

The Dodgers scored seven times in the first two innings off of CBRD starter Seth Darling (Cle Elum HS). Ephrata's Josh Snider came in and pitched the last five innings and gave up only one run.

Stockton Taylor (Brewster HS) went 3-for-5 with two RBI, Ricco Moreno (Big Bend CC/Moses Lake HS) finished 3-for-4 and Cameron Alvarado (Moses Lake HS) went 2-for-4).

They fell to 0-2 on Thursday evening as the RiverDogs were blasted by the Vancouver (WA) Cardinals 11-2.

The Cardinals gave up 17 hits and committed five errors while Davis Engel (Skagit Valley CC) took the loss on the mound for the RiverDogs. Alvarado finished 2-for-4.

On Friday night, the RiverDogs led 6-4 after seven innings before falling late to the East Valley (Portland Ore.) Knights, 9-6.

Another five errors, "really cost us because most of those runs were unearned," Boruff said.

Cody Johns (Naches Valley) pitched well according to Boruff before getting tired and seeing his pitches come up into the strike zone more later in the game.

Jacob Yamane (Warden) went 3-for-4, Conor Hamilton (Othello HS) had two RBI and Chris Walker (Naches Valley) finished 2-for-5 for the RiverDogs who scored all six of their runs in the third inning.

Boise's (Idaho) Eagles were up on Saturday for the RiverDogs who fell 4-2.

Again CBRD led 2-1 going into the seventh but allowed a bases loaded double in the bottom half of the frame to allow the Eagles a chance to rally.

Mitch Yada (Moses Lake HS) pitched five innings and threw 100 pitches as he continues to improve while rehabbing from an injury during the high school season.

"He had a rough go the first two innings with 58 pitches and then he settled in," Boruff said. "Mitch is just working himself into shape and just has to be in better control of the strike zone. Boise is a good ballclub and Mitch is lefthanded which is an advantage. He's got a pretty good curve ball. If he throws more strikes he's going to be okay."

On Sunday, the RiverDogs saved their best drama for last, losing 14-13 to Medford (Ore.) as their opponents rallied from a 13-12 deficit from the sixth inning on until they finished the contest with a three-run walkoff home run.

"They are the best hitting team we've seen from top to bottom," Boruff said of Medford.

Taylor pitched only 1.1 innings and gave up 11 runs before the RiverDogs rallied with seven runs in the fourth to take a 12-11 lead.

"Stockton got brought back to earth against Medford and Davis against the Cardinals," Boruff said of his two staff aces. "The thing is that they had pitched well all year and had no problems. All of a sudden we saw some good hitting teams and got beat up. The only guy who had success all weekend was Josh who pitched 12 innings and gave up two runs. He is not an overpowering guy but he just pitched strikes and mixed speeds really well."

Snider pitched 5.2 innings in relief against Medford.

Moreno hit a grand slam in the fourth inning and went 2-for-4, Yamane ended up 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Matt Noyola (Moses Lake HS) had a two-RBI single.

Boruff liked seeing his offense come alive at the end of the five days.

"I think because of spending a lot of time in the cages and to have an approach at the plate you will see us hit the ball a lot better the rest of the year," Boruff said. "I saw a lot of progression and our hitters are doing better against stronger competition. We were able to get a lot of practice away from the game which was good since we played only one game a day."

Starting Thursday, the RiverDogs host the High Desert Classic at Johnson-O'Brien Stadium and Big Bend CC.

The tournament, which includes both the River Dogs and the Desert Dogs teams, will take place throughout the weekend.

The RiverDogs host the Seattle Broncos on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Ephrata to start play.

The Desert Dogs take on Cascade Kodiaks at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Big Bend CC in their first game.