River Dogs take third at Wood Bat Classic

SPOKANE – After going 4-0 in pool games and winning the first game of bracket play, the 18U Columbia Basin River Dogs fell 10-5 to the 18U Webber Wildcats in the semifinals of the Spokane Wood Bat Classic, placing third in the tournament.

“We were really impressed with the way these boys competed this weekend,” River Dogs co-Head Coach Brock Lybbert said. “We got one more arm back to add back to our rotation, who came in and closed yesterday in Anson Gustafson. We saw what we can do when we play the game the right way.”

Webber scored three runs over the course of the second and third innings, but the River Dogs were able to cut the lead to 3-2 after back-to-back RBI singles by second baseman Zane Harden and shortstop Gustafson. From there, the Wildcats took advantage of River Dog mishaps to score four runs in the top of the fourth and two runs in the top of the fifth inning.

Columbia Basin made a small run in the bottom of the seventh after Koehn Lyons and catcher Blaine Macdonald scored on bases-loaded walks, with Gustafson later scoring on a fielder’s choice.

“In games like (against Weber) we have to learn how to stop the bleeding by doing the little things right,” Lybbert said. “Whether it’s hitting cuts, knowing where we’re going with the baseball, getting behind the baseball – there’s things we’ve got to do to stop the bleeding, but we were very proud of the way they carried themselves.”

The River Dogs opened the tournament with wins over Whatcom Post 7 (3-1) and Absolute Human Performance Academy (15-8) on Friday before winning both of Saturday’s games against the Edmonton Expos (16-2) and Spokane Cannons (6-3).

“I thought we swung the bat really well throughout the weekend,” Lybbert said. “Really, top to bottom (of the lineup). (Gustafson) got really hot, I thought Peyton (Juarez) and Evan (Smith) swung the bat really well. Zane (Harden) found it late after we got through Friday and got back into a rhythm.”

In the big win against the Expos, River Dog left fielder Peyton Juarez hit two triples and drove in four runs. Juarez credited the assistance of his father for helping him make plays in the game.

“Whenever I’m going through a struggle, he’ll make the time and effort to help me,” Juarez said. “We’ll show up to the ballfield here about an hour-and-a-half early, come and do some offensive drills and working off the tee. I’d say that definitely helped me, and he’s been a big help in my life.”

In the first round of bracket play on Sunday, the River Dogs scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the Spokane Expos 5-5 and send the game into extra innings. In the top of the eighth inning, Macdonald scored on a passed ball and Juarez sent Gustafson home on an RBI single to give his team some insurance.

“(The pitcher) was working me with his breaking ball, his off-speeds,” Juarez said. “When I saw his fastball – we like to call it a mistake; when we’re looking for a mistake, we go 100%. I didn’t get all of it, but it was just enough to go through the middle.”

Smith and catcher Holden Koziol both hit two-RBI doubles in the top of the seventh against the Spokane Expos to tie the game and send it to extras.

“Everyone had a role in it (on Sunday),” Lybbert said. “We needed a big start from Blaine (Macdonald) on the mound, and he gave it to us. He gave it everything he could. Late in the game when we needed runs, we had guys top to bottom in the lineup that stepped up and contributed to gut out a win.”

The River Dogs will return to the field this weekend in Ephrata for games against Pullman and Farmers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“If we want to prepare ourselves for a tournament trail in the Babe Ruth series and go to Calgary for regionals, we have to play our game,” Lybbert said. “We saw that this weekend for the large majority. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner, it’s a big tournament.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.