RiverDogs embark on new journey
A new summer means another Columbia Basin RiverDogs baseball season.
EPHRATA - It can be considered a mixed blessing.
For the 2011 edition of the Columbia Basin RiverDogs they have in fact already qualified for this year's Babe Ruth World Series.
That is of course because they will play host to the annual event starting in August at Ephrata's Johnson/O'Brien Stadium, their home field.
So one mission is accomplished without a pitch thrown or a bat swung.
Yet, with the pressure for the team to qualify already off of their shoulders, it doesn't mean the RiverDogs' brass won't expect this U-18 program, one of the best year-in, year-out in the Northwest, to expect anything but the best until that climatic weekend.
That is why team manager Randy Boruff, who has been with the program since its inception in 1994, has put together another top flight schedule to get his boys ready to not just make an appearance at the World Series but to be a serious title threat.
"It's a tough schedule with us opening up here on Memorial Day," Boruff said when speaking of this weekend's Memorial Day Classic that will take place in Ephrata and Ellensburg.. "We have a good schedule right off the get-go. We try to make it as tough as we can so we are not surprised when the World Series comes around.
"I don't have to win a league or anything else to get here but we need to have a sense of urgency so we can be playing our best baseball at the end by the time the Series starts," Boruff said. "We are just wanting to play hard and do things right to keep progressing."
A total of 31 players will compose the RiverDogs as well as the Desert Dogs teams that could play up to a combined 80 games this summer.
According to Boruff, the 13 returning starters from last year's 38-7 RiverDogs squad which missed the World Series by one spot after losing in the Northwest Regional final, have already locked up spots with the top team and about eight players are vying to make the final five spots. It is possible those eight players could rotate in their roles with the RiverDogs. The remaining players will constitute the majority of the Desert Dogs, who themselves faces a loaded schedule in hopes of bettering their 2010 campaign which ended with a 22-15 mark.
The Desert Dogs could also qualify as a team for the World Series by winning the Northwest Regional.
"This is an opportunity for kids to develop their baseball skills and prepare them for the next level," Boruff said. "We have had 18 kids drafted by Major League Baseball and two of them are still playing - George Reyes (San Diego) and Ryan Doumit (Pittsburgh). We try to prepare them by running it like a college program. If you are going to start and play for the RiverDogs I would say over the last five or six years all starters are starters for at least a JUCO or a college team. We have had over 150 kids go from the program to go play college baseball."
So all the players regardless of being with the RiverDogs or the Desert Dogs do benefit from the experience.
"The competition level is really high and the coaching staff is probably the best for summer ball you can have," Cameron Alvarado, a soon-to-be graduate of Moses Lake High School, said. "They know a lot of fundamental stuff to help you get ready for the next level. They are good coaches and good guys."
Alvarado is one of a dozen Chiefs to fill a RiverDogs' roster which is dotted with players from 10 schools mostly representing the Columbia Basin.
Players have to be 18-years-old up until Dec. 31 of this year and the players range in age from 15 to 18.
This year's team appears to be built more on athleticism than brute power.
"Our emphasis this year due to not having a lot of home run power is going to be small ball," Boruff said. "We have good singles hitters and guys that can hit the gaps. We probably won't hit more than 12 home runs all year. We have some guys with pop and you always get some guys that will surprise you, I just couldn't tell you yet or what I anticipate."
The team also sees itself as quite deep in the lineup.
"One bopper is easy to pitch around but not when you have five, six guys in the lineup where you don't rely on the home run and more consistency on hitting and running," Boruff said. "It's easier for you as a coaching staff to have a philosophy and stick by it with a roster makeup like this."
Alvarado likes his team's look as well.
"The team is a good club and I think we will do well this whole summer including the World Series.," Alvarado said. "We have brought back all of our starting pitchers back and I think the lineup from one to 10 looks pretty good."
Alvarado, Ricco Moreno (Big Bend CC/Moses Lake HS), Davis Engel (Sagit Valley CC), and Stockton Taylor (Brewster HS) are all cited as speed merchants who could wreak havoc once they get on base due to their hitting efficiency.
Their pitching could be solid as well with Cody Johns (Naches Valley), Seth Darling (Spokane CC), Mitch Yada (Moses Lake HS), Engel and Taylor in the fold.
"We don't have a D-1 guy but with these guys such as Davis, Stockton, and Seth, those guys are all mid-80 guys," Boruff said. "Cody throws a lot of strikes and we have a couple of other younger guys who pitched for us last year are all left handed throwers."
Taylor didn't throw last year and Yada is hoped to be eventually healthy after suffering a broken ankle during the Chiefs' season.
"I am really excited especially playing in the World Series in front of a lot of people," Yada said. "This is my last year of summer ball so I am really excited."
While the program will vie for a lot of wins and a hoped for strong World Series run, one must not forget that these young men are here to enjoy the experience as players, teammates, and potentially friends.
"Meeting everyone on the team and all the other top players is a great part of being on the team," Yada said. "I've had a great bond with them since I have been with them almost every day of the summer, We know each other and we know we are going to do a lot of better. We've skipped the process of getting to know one another and we now know what everyone can do."
MEMORIAL DAY CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Saturday: RiverDogs vs. Showtime Red, 10 a.m. (Ephrata), Central Valley vs. Desert Dogs, 12:30 p.m. (Ephrata), Sockeyes vs. Desert Dogs, 5:30 p.m. (Ephrata), RiverDogs vs. Chaffey Baseball, 8 p.m. (Ephrata); Sunday: Anderson Hay vs. Desert Dogs, 10 a.m. (Ellensburg's Rotary Park), River Dogs vs. Showtime Black, 10 a.m. (Ephrata), Wenatchee Blues vs. Desert Dogs, 12:30 p.m. (Ellensburg), RiverDogs vs. Showtime Black, 5:30 p.m. (Ephrata); Monday: Schedule to be determined
COLUMBIA BASIN RIVER DOGS
Manager: Randy Boruff
Head coaches: Gabe Boruff and Dave Johnson (RiverDogs); Chuck Hansen and Curran Redal (Desert Dogs).
Assistant coaches: Sonny Garza and Ray Hamilton
2010 Overall Record: RiverDogs 38-7; Desert Dogs 22-15
2010 Postseason: Second at Babe Ruth Northwest Regional in Portland
Best Finish: World Series Title (1998); 16-year-old Senior Babe Ruth Title (1995)
2010 players that moved on to college baseball: Matt Herbert (Big Bend), Bryce Todd (Big Bend), Brett Gray (Big Bend).
2010 Roster: Cameron Alvarado (Moses Lake HS), Bryce Beavers (Ephrata HS), Matt Benner (Big Bend CC), Seth Darling (Spokane CC), Amando DeLeon (Othello HS), Dylan Derr (Ephrata HS), Nick Dodds (Moses Lake HS), Davis Engel (Sagit Valley CC), CJ Garza (Evangelical College), David Garza (Othello HS), Cole Gilman (Naches Valley HS), Chandler Gribble (Ephrata HS), Conor Hamilton (Big Bend CC), Anthony Hernandez (Moses Lake HS), Cody Johns (Naches Valley HS), Devin Juarez (Moses Lake HS), Nick Laszlo (Moses Lake HS), Brett Lopez (Moses Lake HS), Ricco Moreno (Big Bend CC/Moses Lake HS), Johnny Navarro (Quincy HS), Matt Noyola (Moses Lake HS), Bryton Redal (Moses Lake HS), Kody Samuels (Moses Lake HS), Josh Snider (Ephrata HS), Nate Steffler (Moses Lake HS), Stockton Taylor (Brewster HS), Luke Valdez (Moses Lake HS), Chris Walker (Naches Valley HS), Tanner Williams (Ephrata HS), and Mitch Yada (Moses Lake HS).
Other local traveling baseball teams:
Moses Lake Walleyes, U-17, Junior Legion AA Division
Moses Lake Sun Devils, U-16 Junior Legion A Division
Moses Lake Crawdads, U-14 Babe Ruth Developmental Team
Moses Lake Dunes, U-13 Babe Ruth Developmental Team
Become a Subscriber!
You have read all of your free articles this month. Select a plan below to start your subscription today.
Already a subscriber? Login
