14U River Dogs win North Washington tournament

EPHRATA — The 14U Columbia Basin River Dogs went 3-0 over the weekend to claim the Babe Ruth 14U North Washington State Tournament at Johnson-O'Brien stadium in Ephrata, defeating the 14U Moses Lake All Stars 12-0 in the title game Sunday.

“As far as the overall season went, it wasn’t the season we expected,” head coach Jeremy Vasquez said. “There were a lot of close games that we felt like we should have won, however, over the last month, the boys have really turned it around. They played our game, they did the simple things right and competed, and it really showed on the field.”

The three-team tournament, also attended by the 14U Moses Lake All Stars and Puyallup 14U Blue, opened with Columbia Basin defeating Moses Lake 11-4 on Saturday afternoon. Moses Lake took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, which was quickly responded to by the River Dogs with a three-run top of the second with RBI from Gabe Mack and Dayne Holland. The River Dogs added two runs in the third, four runs in the fifth and two runs in the sixth to claim an 11-4 win. Holland paced the River Dogs with three RBI in the win, while shortstop Cooper Vasquez had three hits.

“It was really great — we went in with the strategy of how we wanted to run out pitching, and Jordan Balderas started for us and did his job,” Jeremy said. “Everyone behind him did their job and on top of that, we got the hits we needed. It was just a complete game.”

Against Puyallup on Saturday afternoon, Columbia Basin scored the first runs in the bottom of the third inning, with Mitchell Johnson and Mack both driving in runs. Mack led the team with three RBI in the eventual 8-0 win, while Cooper collected a team-high three hits.

“When you can put pressure on the other team pretty quick, it changes that momentum,” Vasquez said. “It was definitely key — any time we can get baserunners on and get them around to score, that’s what you want to see as a coach.”

The offense was rolling off the jump in Sunday’s championship game against Moses Lake, as Columbia Basin added five runs in the bottom of the first, three runs in the bottom of the second and four runs in the bottom of the third to win the game 12-0 in three innings. Johnson, Cooper and Mack all drove in two runs in the win.

“Scoring those five runs quick, when you can come off on defense one, two, three, and then come up to bat and put pressure on again, that momentum definitely leans your way and it kind of takes the pressure off a bit, both offensively and defensively for the team,” Jeremy said. 

Vasquez got the start on the mound in the title game, allowing no hits, walked one batter and struck out eight Moses Lake batters.

“He had really great velocity that day, and he was pounding the strike zone,” Jeremy said. “His only regret is he walked that first batter, but other than that, he had a clean game.”

Typically the winner of the state tournament advances to the Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament, which is being held in Calgary later this month. Jeremy said the River Dogs won’t be making the trip up north, citing player availability as the main factor. Instead, Moses Lake will take their place.

The tournament wrapped up the season for the River Dogs.

“We’ve coached these boys for quite a few years now, so to see it come to where it ended this year, it was kind of a full-circle moment,” Jeremy said. “Watching that group of boys getting the opportunity to celebrate the way they did, and for the parents who devoted all the time and energy to getting their boys to practice and travel every other weekend with us, it was definitely a full-circle moment that definitely paid off as a coach. I was proud to see it.”

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

14U River Dog pitcher Cooper Vasquez struck out eight batters while surrendering no hits in Sunday’s championship game against the 14U Moses Lake All Stars.

    14U River Dog first baseman Gabe Mack led the team in RBI against Puyallup on Saturday afternoon with three and tied for a team-high in RBI with two in Sunday’s championship game against Moses Lake.