River Dogs 3rd at Garretson Memorial

YAKIMA - An early injury to starting pitcher Junior Ledgard didn't sidetrack the River Dogs from a strong showing at the Garretson Memorial Tournament in Yakima recently.

After falling to Chaffey in the first round, 10-1, Columbia Basin was able to string four wins in a row to claim third place.

However, the River Dogs had an opportunity to avoid their opening round loss to Chaffey. Trailing only 1-0 after four innings, Ledgard twisted his ankle and needed to be replaced.

On short notice, the River Dog relievers were unable to contain the Chaffey offense.

"Our relievers weren't ready to go and we walked six or seven guys and they all came around and they managed to put some key hits together," head coach Randy Boruff said.

Columbia Basin rallied for a 2-1 win against Skagit Valley behind a masterful pitching performance from Parker Stohr. Stohr struck out 11 batters in five innings of work.

Tyrel Panter went on to earn the win in relief.

By the third game, the River Dog offense adjusted to the wood bat tournament and outscored the Kennewick Bandits 7-2.

"I was happy about our performance," Boruff said. "I thought that we got, for the most part, got good pitching and it was a wood bat tournament the game's a little different with a wood bat."

Without Justin DeHoog, Timbo Taylor and Ledgard, the River Dogs scratched their way past the Skagit Sox, 4-1, and dropped the Seattle Tides in the third place game, 7-4.

Kyle Killian led the way for Columbia Basin, going 4 for 4 with two doubles against the Tides.

Drew Loera added two hits.

So far, the summer schedule for the River Dogs has been a bit of a work in progress as Boruff and his staff have patiently waited for the team to return to full strength.

"We're getting decent pitching and some of our kids are really kind of catching on," he said. "I do believe by the time August 7 rolls around we're going to be a pretty good baseball team."

August 7 being the start of the Sr. Babe Ruth World Series at Johnson-O'Brien Stadium in Ephrata.

For now, the River Dogs will set their sights on the Taylor Baseball Classic in Seattle this weekend.

"We're going to kind of get our baptism a little bit," Boruff said. "See how we stack up and hopefully we'll be at full strength."