18U River Dogs prepare for Jerry Henderson Memorial Tournament

EPHRATA – The 18U Columbia Basin River Dogs enter their third tournament of the season this weekend, preparing for the Jerry Henderson Memorial Tournament that will be hosted at Johnson-O’Brien Stadium in Ephrata beginning Friday night.

“Between (Henderson) and Randy (Boruff), it was their vision and their sort of legacy, it was their commitment to bring this – what they wanted to call an elite level program – to the Columbia Basin and make it available to everybody that wanted to play,” 18U Head Coach Rick Baldini said. “(Henderson) left an indelible mark – it’s going to be really hard to picture what this looks like going forward without him there.”

While Henderson was more in the background of operations for the River Dogs, his legacy and influence on the entire organization will be remembered this weekend. Henderson passed away in January.

“His support in the area meant so much to so many people,” 18U Assistant Coach Jaime Vela said. “Making sure guys were taken care of with rides, making sure guys were taken care of financially – that’s not an opportunity that every kid can necessarily go out and get, but Jerry knew that if you wanted it bad enough, he was going to make it happen for you. The world needs more Jerry Hendersons around.”

It was a quick turnaround from the high school season to summer ball for the River Dogs, who began team activities quickly after high school postseason competitions ended. Baldini added that the early weeks of the season can be challenging in balancing everyone’s schedules.

“There’s not a lot of time off, and the early part of the summer is really just a juggling act,” Baldini said. “You’ve got graduation, and once they graduate you’ve got guys going on trips with their families. We’re juggling players, and we probably won’t be at full strength until, really, pretty close to the end of June.”

Made up of players from Moses Lake to Wenatchee, the 18U River Dogs aim to develop players throughout the summer before returning to the diamond for their high schools in the spring of 2024.

“We’ve got kids from Eastmont, we’ve got kids from Wenatchee, we’ve got kids from Ephrata and from Moses Lake,” Baldini said. “If, at the end of the summer, all those coaches got back to us and said ‘Hey, I really love where my kid’s at,’ then we will have done a big part of what it is that we’re trying to do, which is develop these guys to the best at their respective high schools.”

The River Dogs won their opening tournament of the season, the Randy Boruff Memorial Tournament hosted in Ephrata over Memorial Day weekend. After competing at a tournament in Selah last weekend, the River Dogs played two high-scoring games against Columbia River on Wednesday, a 20-20 tie and a 14-2 win in a doubleheader.

As tournament play continues, Baldini said the most important factor is pitching.

“That’s the biggest thing with tournament play, is managing pitching,” Baldini said. "We've got enough guys out there to swing it and play defensively, but it’s (about if) we can manage pitching enough so that we can compete in four, five or six games in three days.”

The River Dogs begin play at 7 p.m. on Friday, then play again at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday. Their final game of the tournament is at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

“It’s a summer-long process to, ultimately, be ready for state, regionals and the ultimate gift is a berth to the world series,” Baldini said. “We’re working throughout the summer to get guys there, to be playing to the best of our abilities.”

Ian Bivona can be reached via email at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.