River Dogs head to Babe Ruth World Series
Columbia Basin pitcher Vance Alvarado, of the North Washington State Champion River Dogs, hurls a pitch in the second inning Sunday against Kelso.
CAMAS — They’re state champs, regional champs and now the Columbia Basin River Dogs 15s are headed to the Babe Ruth World Series in Williston, North Dakota.
Columbia Basin, guided by coach Greco Signorelli, won 2-1 over South Washington State Champion Hazel Dell Metro of Vancouver, to win the 15U Pacific Northwest Regional title Sunday in Camas.
“It’s hard to put this into words, but it sure is very exciting for us,” said Signorelli, who is leading a team to the World Series for the first time in his coaching career. “It’s a great accomplishment on their part and I’m very proud of these kids. We took advantage of their (Hazel Dell) mistakes to pull out the win. We knew that this was going to be a tough battle.”
The contest turned out to be a low scoring pitchers’ duel with two outstanding performances on the mound by Columbia Basin pitcher Dalton Kentner (10 strikeouts, five hits, walk) and Hazel Dell’s Sam Lauderdale (nine strikeouts, four hits, four walks).
“I was really feeling good today and I wasn’t overthrowing anything but I was definitely just throwing well in the strike zone,” said Kentner, who pitched a complete game in leading Ephrata to a 10-2 win over Montana in their opening game July 26. “I was hitting my spots and we were getting lots of ground-outs and pop-ups and it was just a great overall team effort. It was just an unbelievable feeling when I threw the ball to first base for the final out of the game to help us get the win. I felt a little scared actually at that point. Then we had the dog-pile celebration at the end and it felt like I almost broke my nose.”
The River Dogs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, highlighted by an RBI single by Joshua Williams (2-for-3, single, double). Columbia Basin lead-off batter Emmitt Tatum (1-for-3) drew a walk from Lauderdale and then scored on Williams’ sharply hit line drive to right field. The RBI by Williams was the only one of the game for the River Dogs.
“He (Lauderdale) was bringing it pretty fast and he was definitely the fastest pitcher that we’ve faced this year,” Williams said.
Hazel Dell responded in the second, scoring a run to knot it 1-1. A two-out rally in the top of the third helped pave the way for Columbia Basin’s huge win. Tatum singled and then later ran to third base on a failed pickoff attempt by Lauderdale when he overthrew a ball to first base. Cody Alvarado (Vance’s cousin) then reached base on a Hazel Dell error and Tatum sprinted home from third, giving the River Dogs a 2-1 lead.
Columbia Basin played rock solid, error-free defense and stymied Hazel Dell in the bottom half of the frame. Williams caught a fly ball for a defensive putout and Kentner struck out two batters to conclude the third with Ephrata remaining on top 2-1.
Williams then made a highlight reel play with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, when a Hazel Dell batter hammered a ball deep to right field. Williams ran back towards the 320-foot fence and then made an absolutely unbelievable catch to help prevent what could’ve easily been a double or possibly even a triple for Hazel Dell.
“When the ball initially came off the bat, I really thought that it was going over the fencehe said. “I really didn’t think that I could get to it, but then I kept going and I had a chance to reach up and grab it about five feet away from the fence. I’ve never made a catch as good as that one. I’ve always wanted to go to the World Series, I’m very exited about it and it’s going to be fun having an opportunity to play there. It’s definitely the highlight of my athletic career.”
Nearly everyone in the packed grandstands at Louis Bloch Park gave him a standing ovation for the amazing play.
“That was definitely the play of the game,” assistant coach Phil Signorelli said.
The River Dogs defense shined brightly again in the sixth to thwart Hazel Dell’s offense. Third baseman Dominic Signorelli scooped up an infield grounder, he threw to shortstop Cody Alvarado at second, who then threw to first baseman Dax Lindgren for the impressive double play.
Hazel Dell desperately tried to manufacture a run in the bottom of the seventh to tie it, but Columbia Basin didn’t allow a base runner, slamming the door on their season. Kentner struck out two batters and then he grabbed an infield grounder and threw to Lindgren for the final out to send Columbia Basin to the Babe Ruth World Series.
The River Dogs have won nine straight, including the state tournament, swept through their pool play games with a 4-0 record to take first place in the American Division bracket of the 10-team, 15U tournament July 25-31.
The River Dogs outscored four pool opponents by the margin of 33-6, including a 5-3 win Saturday over host team Camas to gain the No. 1 American seed into Sunday’s four-team semifinals.
“We anticipated being in the final, this is what we’ve been playing for all year and so this is definitely the way we wanted to conclude the tournament,” Signorelli said. “I’m very proud of our team and they’re just a great group of kids. Both teams deserved to be here in the championship game. It’s nice seeing a team from a rural community like ours come out here and compete well with the big metropolitan area teams in this tournament.”
The River Dogs met Kelso in Sunday’s 10 a.m. semi and won 4-0 to clinch a spot in the 5 p.m. championship game against Hazel Dell. Vance Alvarado hurled a four-hitter, he struck out seven and walked two to help lead Columbia Basin to the big victory.
“We definitely expected to make it to the championship game and we were hoping to move onto the World Series,” said Alvarado, who threw a one-hitter in a 10-0 win over the Calgary, Alberta Canada squad in Columbia Basin’s second contest July 27. “My teammates always back me up well defensively when I’m pitching and everyone came up with some big hits to help us win the semi’s. It’s awesome to go the World Series. This is definitely the highlight of my baseball career.”
In the semifinal against Kelso, Columbia Basin jumped in front 2-0 in the second inning, highlighted by an RBI single by Evan McLean (2-for-3) and sacrifice RBI infield ground-out by Alvarado. Columbia Basin’s momentum continued in the third with a two-out rally. Emmit Tatum (2-for-3) singled and then stole second base to get into scoring position. Dominic Signorelli (1-for-3) then hammered a fly ball deep to center field for an RBI single as Tatum sprinted home. Two batters later, Signorelli scored on an RBI single by Williams for a 4-0 River Dogs advantage.
It was a scoreless pitchers’ duel for the remainder of the contest as neither team was able to get anymore runs over the final four innings. The Kelso All-Stars had their best opportunity to score in the top of the sixth when they loaded the bases. Second baseman Williams made a key defensive play as he caught a high pop-up to thwart the potential scoring chance for Kelso, keeping the momentum going for Columbia Basin as they held on for the win to advance to the final.
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