River Dogs face Pine Forge, Pa., in World Series semifinals

Hunter Boyd

by Rodney Hardwood & Staff Writer
| August 12, 2016 1:45 PM

EPHRATA — Two teams stand between the Columbia Basin River Dogs and the repeat as Senior Babe Ruth World Series champions. But if they don’t get past Friday afternoon, it’s a non-issue.

The River Dogs (4-1) will put ace Hunter Boyd on the mound for Friday’s semifinal against Pine Forge, Pa. at Johnson-O’Brien Stadium. Manager Randy Boruff had the luxury going with either Boyd or Kaeden Murphy, but decided to go with the big right-hander from Moses Lake, freeing up Murphy for the championship game on Saturday.

“It’s big for us to get to the championship game on our home turf. We’re pitching the best. We’re going to put the best lineup we have on the field,” Boruff said. “I think the night off helps. It gives us a chance to scout and watch. I like the rest and we’ll be ready to go.”

The stage is set. Pine Forge (3-2) defeated Tuscon 3-2 to advance to the semifinals, where they’ll take on the River Dogs in the 4 p.m. game. Union County, N.C. (4-1) held off Cape Cod, Mass., 7-5 and will play the unbeaten Alabama Rawdogs (4-0) in the 7 p.m. game.

Columbia Basin has eight players from last year’s World Series championship team. They’ve played the bright lights, they have the experience. The battery for Friday’s semifinal will tap into that experience with Boyd on the mound and Justin DeHoog behind the plate calling the shots. This is DeHoog’s fourth World Series and he said he’s ready for the challenge.

“I don’t think we’ve hit the ball like we can,” he said. “The best is yet to come.”

Boyd threw a complete game in the tournament opener against Wayne County, Mo., last Saturday, limiting the Midwest Plains champions to four hits, while striking out 12. He is coming off a solid freshman year at Yakima Valley Community College and has the ability to dominate.

The River Dogs have had a couple of rough outings defensively, committing three errors in the first two innings of their 13-5 win over Tucson in the final game of the American Division pool play game. But they have put themselves in position to take another run and that’s all that matters.

“We haven’t played our best baseball yet,” Boruff said. “I think we’re capable of winning it, we just have to go out and play like we can.”