Dirt Dawgs win Summer Series

YAKIMA, Wash. — The Yakima Dirt Dawgs U-15 team took first place in the seventh-annual Palouse Summer Series held at Washington State University last weekend.

The Dirt Dawgs went undefeated in four games, outscoring opponents 61-36 and boasted a team batting average of .428 with a 15-7 win in a nine-run eighth inning over the JBA Bruins of Kent in the championship game.

Team members are Jarett Martin, Derrick Swearingen, Tyler Clemenson, Julian Rivera, Zach Romero, Tony Saiz, Bobby Salinas, Trey Serl, Martin Valdez, Carlos Vijarro, David Garza, Lavonte Allen, Mason Hall and Carson Petrea. The team is coached by Tony Saiz, Rob Clemenson, Jeff Serl and Ruben Rivera.

SOCCER

Strikers take first in Burlington

Sun City Strikers ’99 McCurdy won the boys U-11 division of the Garrett Chase Memorial Soccer Tournament held July 23-25 in Burlington.

The team won all four of its games and beat Northwest United England in the championship game.

The Strikers were led by forward Juan Mendoza who scored 13 goals in the tournament and was honored as the team MVP.

Team members are Brandon Battle, Alfonso Cuevas, Shawn Dawley-Abeyta, Mateo Fernandez, Lincoln Holland-Boone, Anthony Lopez, Isaiah Lopez, Lorenzo Lopez, Gabriel Miles, Jordan Munguia, Angel Sanchez, Thomas Vargas, and Brandon Vallejo. The head coach is James McCurdy.

7/29/10 Yakima Valley Scorecard

Junior Golf
WSJGA DISTRICT 4 TOURNAMENT
(Monday at Moses Lake Country Club, Tuesday at Lakeview C.C. in Soap Lake)
LOCAL BOYS RESULTS
16-17: 2. (tie) Eric Gravbrot 72-74—146*; 7, Kameron Lamb 78-72—150*; 10, (tie) Riley Iacolucci 76-76—152; 13, (tie) Minwoo Park 78-75—153.
14-15: 7. Taylor Bolm 81-84—165*; 8, Andrew Raab 78-88—166**; 12, Beau Wangler 91-83—174; 16, Logan Helgeland 99-93—192.
12-13: 5, (tie) Nathan Nulliner 91-92—183; Joe Fenich 91-92—183; 9, Colton Dally 94-98—192; 10, Austin Backes 97-98—195.
8-11 (9 holes both days): 1, Holden Backes 38-42—80*; 3, Dylan Apodaca 42-41—83*; 4, (tie) Dylan Bissell 43-43—86*; Travis Kay 44-42—86*; 7, Kaelan Nettleship 45-47—92**; 8, Jaime Campos 45-48—93; 10, Adam Raab 48-47—95; 11, Tyler Fitchett 56-52—108.
LOCAL GIRLS RESULTS
16-17: 5, Renae Visser 97-94—191; 6, Brianna Nelson 100-94—194.
14-15: 1, Bree Wanderscheid 77-76—153;
*—State qualifier
**—State alternate

Apple Tree
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Apple Seed Tournament, July 21
Low gross: Nancy Eglin 150. Low net: 1, Sara Keefe 136; 2, Carolyn Henyan 147; 3, (tie) Ann Hall 152, Pene James 152; 5, Linda Lenseigne 161.

Mount Adams
MEN’S DIVISION
Bestball, July 22
Gross: 1, Russ Arbuckle-Mike Chambers 71; 2, Russ Arbuckle-Connie Besel 74. Net: 1, Mike Pollock-David Greger 59; 2, (tie) Mike Pollock-Doyle Wilson 61, Vern Stephenson-Elias Whitefoot 61; 4, Ron Smith-Jim Whitaker 62.
Orange Ball Tourney, July 24
1, Mike Chambers-Rick Sifuentes-Conrad Besel-Peter Barstad 146; 2, Paul Stonemetz-Bob Bergeron-Vern Stephenson-Lucio Aguilar 150; 3, Jack Syverson-Randy Anderson-George Geffe-Earl Greene 154; 4, Keith Grace-Mike Pollock-Gary Hyatt-Steve Knopp 156.
Home & Home, July 25
Gross: 1, Dave Meyers 81; 2, Jim Wallace 83; 3, Steve Schnellman 85. Net: 1, Monty Carl 68; 2, Jay Bounds 70; 3, (tie) Earl Greene 74, Louis Aguilar 74.
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Gross and Net, July 21
Gross: Betty Carl 112. Net: Maria Frank 77.
Cross Country, July 28
Gross: Carlisle Ibatuan 42. Net: Sharon Hedden 25.
Horse race, July 28
Win: Connie Rogers-Maria Frank-Valeria Smith. Place: Betty Carl-Sharon Hedden-June Kitting. Show: Carlisle Ibatuan-Sheila Whitaker-Sylvia Van Cleave.
COUPLES DIVISION
Selective Drive, July 23
Gross: 1, Randy & Debbie Anderson 41. Net: 1, Ron & Valerie Smith 271/4; 2, Jim Bradbury-Sharon Hedden 301/2; 3, Mike Chambers-Maria Frank 303/4; 4, James & Connie Rogers 321/4.

SunTides
MEN’S DIVISION
Thursday League, July 22
1, 429 Goldsworthy 75; 2, Fore Players 671/2; 3, Curly’s Bar and Grill 641/2; 4, KWL Brokerage 57; 5, Country Rock Cafe 56; 6, The Culls 56; 7, Rocc’s 521/2; 8, Northwest Autobody 501/2; 9, Weapons of Grass Destruction 471/2; 10, RJ’s Tire and Auto 321/2.
Tuesday Night League, July 27
1, Ron’s Coin and Collectibles 711/2; 2, Pepsi Cola 701/2; 3, Pond Strikers 65; 4, First American Realty 641/2; 5, Legal Couriers 64; 6, PLSA 631/2; 7, PSE 63; 8, Bill’s Produce 571/2; 9, (tie) Artic Circle 551/2, Get A Grip 551/2; 11, (tie) Reeves Financial Services 501/2; Highlanders 501/2; 13, YTC 50; 14, Kwik Lok 49; 15, Mortons Supply 481/2; 16, (tie) Stellar Industrial 45; JL Thomas Construction 45; 18, The Handicapped 36.
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Gross and Net, July 27
A Division—Gross: Lynda Matthews 81, (tie) Claudette Haubner 88, Lori Nulliner 88. Net: (tie) Karin Kohls 69, Karen Cooper 69, Lori Thomas 73.
B Division—Gross: Carol Coleman 97, Kristi Turner 100. Net: Lynne Willard 73, Helen Galagher 80.
C Division—Gross: Kathy Thomas 102, Vi Bond 106, Bev Morgan 117. Net: Dianne Oeltjen 72, Harriet Clark 79.
Qualified for Buckskin: Lynda Matthews 65.
COUPLES DIVISION
Friday Night, July 23
Gross: 1, Ray & Terri Gallipo 36; 2, Ted & Lori Nulliner 40; 3, (tie) Chuck & Karin Kohls 42, Lou & Sally Anderson 42. Net: 1, Steve Pfau-Carole Coleman 29; 2, John Garcia-Lynda Mathews 291/4; 3, Peter & Pat Eckroat 303/4.

Westwood West
MEN’S DIVISION
Wednesday Night League, July 21
Valley Lab 114, Tim Troy Construction 107, Shuels Lumber 96, Kyani 94, Footwedges 94, 3 HC 89, Foreplay 89, Albatross 76, Helliesen Lumber 65.
Thursday Night League, July 22
Semo 116, No Name 108, T&M 99, Westwood 92, AB Transmission 90, Green Attack 89, Advance 89, Auto Care 86, Four Hookers 63.
Dog Days Tournament, July 24
First Flight — Gross: 1, Ron Knight; 2, Spike Adams. Net: 1, Steve Freeman; 2, (tie) Ron Dobraue, Andy Fisher.
Second Flight — Gross: 1, (tie) Howard Alexander, Don Nelson, Roger Luttrell. Net: 1, Phil Skirvin; 2, Ken Irvine.
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Beat John Rogers, July 21
John Rogers 281/2. No winners from group.
COUPLES DIVISION
Chapman, July 22
1, (tie) Dave & Elaine Donahue 41, Lee & Paula Bush 41; 3, Don & Geneva Nelson 44; 4, Dave Edgerton-Hilde Brule 45; 5, Bernice Snyder-Trudy Ledwich 47.

Yakima Country Club
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Beat the Pro, July 27
Low gross: Terri Schaake 83. Low net: Melissa Keeter 64.
Debbie Holbrook, Kathy Adkison, Lillie Lee Anderson, Terri Schaake, Melissa Keeter, Bonnie Lathrop, Karen Judge, Judy Kauzlarich.

Yakima Elks
MEN’S DIVISION
4-Man, 1-Net
Jack Carey-Ted Stone-Jack Lovell-Tom Lovell 54; Paul Sugden-Gary Germunson-RD Dalebout-John Crimin 55.
2-Man Bestball
Gross: Don Capps-Ron Capps 68; Terry Matthews-Mark Mochel 71, Joe Folk-Mark Mochel 71, David Uhlman-Bob Sewell 71, David Uhlman-Bill Poulin 71. Net: Jack Carey-Ted Stone 57; Jack Lovell-Ted Stone 60; Paul Sugden-RD Dalebout 61, Terry Matthews-Joe Folk 61, Tom Lovell-Ted Stone 61.
Best 15
First Flight — Gross: David Uhlman 57. Net: Terry Matthews 51.
Second Flight — Gross: Joe Folk 64. Net: Norm Kuhlmann 51.
Third Flight — Gross: Merl Brothers 67. Net: Jack Carey 46.
4-Man, 1-Net, July 17
Gary Germunson-Steve Slaven-Dan Marples-Robert Weiss 55; Denny Stone-Ted Stone-Tim Speer-Bruce Lawrence 57.
2-Man Bestball
Gross: Doug Hearron-Jeff Stevens 65; Don Capps-Jeff Stevens 68; Jim Page-Jeff Stevens 69, Mark Mochel-Jim Blevins 69; Doug Hearron-Don Capps 70; Mark Mochel-John Mills 71, Al Rouse-Aaron Adams 71. Net: Dan Marples-Larry Lenz 57; Gary Germunson-Larry Lenz 60, Denny Stone-Ted Stone 60; Robert Weiss-Paul Sugden 61; Jim Eglin-Barry Woodard 62, Mark Mochel-Joe Folk 62.
Best 17
0-9 HCP — Gross: Jeff Stevens 68, Doug Hearron 68. Net: Al Rouse 62, Mark Mochel 62.
10-16 HCP — Gross: Larry Gargett 74, John Thompson 76. Net: Paul Sugden 62, Joe Folk 64.
17&O HCP — Gross: Bob Lindeman 82, Robert Weiss 83. Net: Bob Sewell 61, Ted Stone 62.
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Best 9, July 15
A Division: 1, Linda Plummer 27; 2, (tie) Shelly Yarbrough 281/2, Marge Oberlander 281/2.
B Division: 1, Helen Tweedy 24; 2, Judy Gano 261/2; 3, Patty Gustin 29.
C Division: 1, Evva Lange 251/2; 2, Becky Besel 261/2; 3, (tie) Lois Schaap 271/2, Flo Holm 271/2.

7/29/10 VSW bulletin board

BASKETBALL: The Education Foundation for Cle Elum-Roslyn is hosting the fifth annual Triple Shot 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament on Aug. 7-8. The tournament is open to kids entering third grade and up to adults. To register, go to www.TripleShotHoops.org.

• Advantage Basketball Camps is hosting a summer camp at Davis High School on Aug. 9-13. The camp is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. For more information or to register, contact Roderick Greggs at 509-910-9333 or 425-670-8877, or go online at www.advantagebasketball.com.

TENNIS: The Yakima Tennis Club will host the 2010 Yakima City Championships tennis tournament at its outdoor facility Aug. 13-15. The junior tournament will be Friday morning through Saturday afternoon, with the adult tournament beginning Friday evening and continuing through Sunday. Register at the Sporthaus to be entered into the tournament raffle. Entries are also available at the YTC outdoor and indoor facilities. If you have questions please contact Jacob at 509-248-4253.

7/29/10 Valley Sports Weekly results

Barrel racing

Yakima County Barrel Racers
FEATHERLAND RANCH
Results, June 24
Division 1: Sierra Bryan 16.280; Jana Isaac 16.426; Kayla Gibson 16.651.
Division 2: Paddy Griffith 17.283; Tanya Lucas 17.314; Syd Sutton 17.317.
Division 3: Devalyn Crowe 18.305; Sidnie Linarez 18.317; Abby Scarlett 18.336.
Division 4: Koral Smartlowit 19.322; Joy Wagner 19.414; Celia Layton 19.462.
Division 5: Kara Toye 20.350; Sheri Powers 20.472; Heather Berry 20.521.
Leadline Barrels: Rainey Arnold 35.635; Tyler Welch 36.419; Alyssa Lee 39.653.

Pool

Upper Valley
WOMEN’S SUMMER LEAGUE
Standings, July 26
Bud Ice: Little Dutch 1 105, Ranch 1 61, Ranch 2 59, West Valley 1 53, Bills 41.
Rollin Rock: Brews & Cues 91, Ranch 3 72, Ranch 4 58, Little Dutch 2 43, West Valley 2 44.
Landshark: Ranch 6 90, Little Dutch 3 76, Little Dutch 4 63, Little Dutch 5 52, Ranch 5 55, Speak Easy 44.
Missing scoresheets: Ranch 3 vs. Ranch 4; Ranch 4 vs. West Valley 2; Rand 2 vs. Ranch 4; Speak Easy vs. Little Dutch 5.

Swimming

AAU
LAST WEEK’S SCORE
Toppenish 606, Othello 161

Track and field

Yakima All-Comers Meet
JULY 21 AT KUMLER FIELD
Boys
4-Under — 50H: Aiden Waddle 13.2. 50: Finnegan Anderson 12.7. LJ: Waddle 5-6. ST: Anderson 34-11.
5-6 — 50H: Tyson Morales 10.0. 50: Jackson Cluff 9.7. 100: Cluff 19.6. LJ: Cluff 9-1. ST: Morales and Cluff 56-4.
7-8 — 50H: Earl Lee 9.3. 100: Lee 15.9. 200: Lee 33.3. 400: Lee 1:18. 800: Sam Allen 3:20. LJ: Hayden 9-6. ST: Liam Blisard 69-5.
9-10 — 50H: Jaden Lynn 9.2. 100: Marjon Beauchamp 15.5. 200: Beauchamp 32.5. 400: Beauchamp 1:22. 1600: Lynn and Michael Allen 6:50. HJ: D’Anthony Smith-Gary 3-8. LJ: Allen 9-8.
11-12 — 100H: Aaron Meza 22.5. 100: Meza 16.6. 400: Dilan Waterbury 1:19. LJ: Meza 10-2.
13-14 — 100H: Nick Sybouts 20.2. 100: Sergio Reyna 12.3. 400: Reyna 56.0. 800: Conner Burton 3:15. SP: Reyna 37-6. LJ: Burton 10-3. HJ: Burton 4-8.
15-16 — SP: Greg Sybouts 24-3.
17-Open — 100: Dana Wells 11.2. 400: Caleb Reynolds 55.7.
Girls
4-Under — 50H: Logan DeJong 17.5. 50: Agathi Sugerman 14.7. LJ: DeJong 3-6. ST: Laiken Morris 8-3.
5-6 — 50H: Noelle Colby 12.6. 50: Allysen Wick 10.1. 100: Kara Michaelson 22.3. LJ: Colby 8-1. ST: Colby 48-0.
7-8 — 50H: Katie Crofutt 11.8. 100: Crofutt 17.9. 200: Crofutt 42.3. 400: Crofutt 1:32. 800: Eboni Johnson 4:26. LJ: Ella Crowder 8-7. ST: Crofutt 37-5.
9-10 — 50H: Jenny Nobbs and Victoria Liebert 10.1. 100: Nobbs 16.6. 200: Nobbs 35.4. 400: Nobbs 1:22. 800: Sarah Wilensky 5:00. 1600: Sydney Allen 6:05. HJ: Nobbs 4-0. LJ: Nobbs 10-0. TJ: Nobbs 46-10.
11-12 — 50H: Brooke Benner 9.4. 100H: Marla Meza 19.9. 100: Meza 13.8. 400: Meza 1:10. LJ: Meza 12-7. HJ: Benner 4-0. TJ: Nicole Nobbs 27-0. SP: Kelsee Fitzsimmons 22-11.
13-14 — 100H: Nicole Nobbs 21.5. 100: Keanna Fine 13.7. 200: Fine 28.2. 400: Fine 1:05. LJ: Nobbs 11-6. SP: Nobbs 26-11. TJ: Nobbs 27-0.

Rivalries resumed

Sixth Pak-Beetle clash last of three rivalry games on tap as state Legion tourney opens today||

YAKIMA — When the American Legion state baseball finals open today at Carlon Park, there is one word that will echo all day long and bring a sharp edge to every inning of every game.

Rivalry.

Three of the four first-round games involve longtime league rivals — all of whom recently played a four-game series — and the 7 p.m. nightcap will feature the sixth meeting of the summer between the Yakima Pepsi Beetles and host Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak.

“It should be an exciting opening day for players and fans,” said Pak coach Mike Archer. “Three rivalry games — what’s better than that?”

Longview Pacific Tech and the Centralia Sobe-Toyota Lizards square off in the 9 a.m. opener, and the Kennewick Bandits clash with the Twin City Titans at, appropriately, high noon.

The Pak (37-14) made sure it was among the elite eight by cruising through its homefield regional, winning 22-5 and 11-2 over the weekend to extend its win streak to 12 games.

With a highly efficient use of its pitching and a ton of hitting while beating Sumner and Bellingham, Yakima Valley established itself as one of this week’s favorites to earn a trip to the Northwest regional Aug. 5-9 in Spokane, which is also the site of the Legion World Series.

Starters Trent Douglass and D.J. Smith combined to work 141?3 of the 16 innings — 11 of which were scoreless — and they had a nasty 13-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

“We’re in good position with our pitching,” Archer said. “Trent and D.J. had great games and we were able to hold (Lukas) Hinton back, although he was ready to go if we needed him. We’re pretty deep with our arms, and we think it sets up well over five days for us.”

The Pak, which has finished second at state in each of the last three years, had plenty of offensive stars over its 33-run weekend. Cory Urquhart went 5-for-5 with six RBI against Sumner, and Thomas Wilcox clubbed two home runs and drove in five against Bellingham. Wilcox has been especially hot lately, batting .652 over his last six games and raising his season total of homers to 12.

After Saturday’s first round of regional games, the Beetles looked like a longshot to reach the state finals following a humbling 18-0 loss to the Spokane Blue Devils in Centralia.

But Sunday saw a complete turnaround with Yakima ousting Bellevue 6-5 and then earning a huge dose of revenge with a 15-8 win over the Blue Devils.

“We had some rough games along the way this season, but the kids always bounced back and they did it again,” said Yakima coach Mike Moore. “That first game we took a beating but we put it behind us. After we got by that first game (vs. Bellevue) the kids we’re excited to play Spokane again.”

The Beetles (25-32-1) produced 21 runs on 27 hits Sunday and got sturdy pitching from starters Michael Woodkey and Tim Roddy.

“Our pitchers threw strikes, and we fielded well,” Moore said of Sunday’s loser-out games. “The last couple weeks we’ve hit well, not striking out as much and getting good at-bats. That’s a big plus for us.”

Yakima Valley is 5-0 against the Beetles this season with a 59-28 scoring advantage. Their last meeting was the closest with the Pak winning 14-12 in eight innings on July 20.

That half the field comes from the Central Washington League for the second year in a row surprises no one. It was, after all, one of the driving forces behind implementing a regional format in 2008.

“It shows the quality of the league, and it’s been that way year in and year out,” said Archer, who is in his 27th season as the Pak’s head coach. “There’s a lot of strong tradition in the league, and having regionals has been a better way to make sure the eight best teams get this far.”

Yakima Valley edged Twin City by a game for the CWL title, allowing a non-Tri-Cities team to claim the top spot for the first time since 2002. Third-place Kennewick won three of four over Twin City last week, spoiling the Titans’ title bid.

The winners and losers of today’s Yakima Valley-Yakima and Kennewick-Twin City games will be paired in Thursday’s second round.

Senior Legion State Tournament preview

TODAY’S GAMES

At Carlon Park, Selah

Game 1: Longview Pacific Tech vs. Centralia Sobe-Toyota Lizards, 9 a.m.

Game 2: Kennewick Bandits vs. Twin City Titans, noon.

Game 3: Spokane Bandits vs. Lakeside Recovery, 4 p.m.

Game 4: Yakima Pepsi Beetles vs. Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak, 7 p.m.

TOURNAMENT INFO

Tickets: $7 per day adults, $5 students, $4 seniors. Children under 12 and active military are free.

Games: Nine innings. Ten-run rule employed after seven innings.

THE FIELD

Centralia Sobe-Toyota Lizards

Coach: Jake LeDuc.

Regional results: d. Bellevue 6-2; d. Spokane Blue Devils 8-5.

Last state appearance: 2009, 3-2 record.

Notable: The Lizards (25-14) broke away late in both their regional wins. Cody Ray (Chehalis-Lower Columbia CC) had five hits over the weekend and Jace Shelton (Elma-Centralia CC) pitched 8 2?3 innings vs. Bellevue. Several of the players helped Chehalis win the 2A state prep title last spring.

Kennewick Bandits

Coach: Bryan Winston.

Regional results: d. Bremerton 18-1; lost Lakeside Recovery 10-7; d. Bremerton 15-2.

Last state appearance: 2009, 4-2 record.

Notable: State champion and World Series runner-up in 2004 and 1999, Kennewick is led by OF Spencer O’Neil (Southridge) and SS Trek Stemp (Kennewick). After back-to-back CWL titles, Kennewick finish third this season at 15-9 behind Yakima Valley (19-5) and Twin City (18-6).

Lakeside Recovery

Coach: Rob Reese.

Regional results: d. Spokane Cannons 6-5; d. Kennewick 10-7.

Last state appearance: 2009, 6-1, champion.

Notable: The defending champ returns with a less-than-dazzling 22-18 record, which included an 0-6 start. But, as always, Lakeside has heated up when it matters most, winning 8 of its last 10. OF Spencer Rogers (Issaquah), a UW recruit, leads the team with a .417 average.

Longview Pacific Tech

Coach: Grady Tweit.

Regional results: d. Wenatchee 12-4; lost Twin City 10-9; d. Pullman 9-6.

Last state appearance: 2009, 1-2 record.

Notable: Pac Tech put in the most miles last weekend, traveling to Colfax to earn that region’s No. 2 berth. Brandon Middleton (Kelso) hit a two-run HR in the opener and was the WP in the state clincher. OF Mikey Murray (Castle Rock) and Jake Look (R.A. Long) had seven hits.

Spokane Bandits

Coach: Bobby Carlson.

Regional results: lost Bellingham 9-6; d. Sumner 8-7; d. Bellingham 11-6.

Last state appearance: 2008, 2-3 record.

Notable: The Bandits, who tied for third in their league at 10-10, trailed Bellingham 4-1 through five innings before putting up six runs in the fifth to avenge Saturday’s loss. OF Cameron Poland (Lewis & Clark) had four hits and pitched eight innings in the state clincher.

Twin City Titans

Coach: Steve Farrington.

Regional results: d. Pullman 13-3; d. Longview 10-9.

Last state appearance: 2009, 4-2 record.

Notable: The Titans, state champs in 2008 and ’05, cranked out 38 hits in two regional games with A.J. Griffiths (Kamiakin) contributing eight RBI. Twin City (40-17) led Longview 8-0 after three innings. The Titans finished 2nd to Chaffey in Lakeside’s Brandy Pugh tourney.

Yakima Pepsi Beetles

Coach: Mike Moore.

Regional results: lost Spokane Blue Devils 18-0; d. Bellevue 6-5; d. Blue Devils 15-8.

Last state appearance: 2009, 3-3 record.

Notable: The Beetles (25-32-1), the CWL’s No. 4 entry, stopped a six-game slide with two big wins on Sunday, including a 10-run sixth-inning outburst to oust Spokane. Lefty Michael Woodkey (Eisenhower) has pitched three straight complete games with 16 shutout innings since July 14.

Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak

Coach: Mike Archer.

Regional results: d. Sumner 22-5; d. Bellingham 11-2.

Last state appearance: 2009, 5-2 record, finished second.

Notable: Winner of 20 games since July 4, the Pak (37-14) rolled up 33 runs in two regional games. 1B Thomas Wilcox (Naches Valley-UW) hit three HRs over the weekend, giving him 12 for the season, and SS Cory Urquhart (West Valley-Bellevue CC) is batting .542 with 70 RBI.

Bears end first half with third straight ‘W’

YAKIMA, Wash. — There are things you’ll never hear from a baseball manager — you know, something like, “That’s a really bad ballclub over there,” or, “We’ll just go out and take them 10 games at a time.”

Bob Didier’s statement Monday night wasn’t that unconventional, but it could at least have been considered borderline heretical for someone in his 44th season of professional ball.

“Right now,” he said, sitting back in his Yakima County Stadium office, “I almost wish we didn’t have tomorrow off.”

Given the events of the preceding 72 hours, however, no one could have blamed him.

The Bears ended the first half of their Northwest League season as they hope to play the bulk of the second, twice rallying for a 4-3 win over Boise in which they excelled in just about every phase.

Before an announced crowd of 1,731, Yakima (18-20) won its third straight and fourth in five games. It also improved to 13-6 at home and 10-8 within the East Division.

All eight NWL teams, including first-half champions Spokane and Everett, will take today off — Didier and pitching coach Doug Drabek have a golf outing planned — after which the Bears will play the first of their 38 second-half games Wednesday at Salem-Keizer.

During a three-game sweep of the Hawks (19-19), Yakima’s bullpen pitched 11 scoreless innings, including three Monday by Keith Cantwell and Jake Hale.

And bats that had been alarmingly unproductive as recently as Friday night’s 6-2 loss at Spokane continued their surge with Yazi Arbelo’s tie-breaking, two-out, eighth-inning RBI triple Monday’s decisive blow.

“I’ve just been staying back and seeing the ball well, even against lefties,” said the left-handed-hitting first baseman, who crushed a 3-1 offering from Boise southpaw Austin Kirk deep into the right-center-field gap. “I knew it wasn’t a home run, so I just put my head down and ran as hard as I could. The last time I tried for a triple, I got thrown out.”

With three doubles and a triple in the series, Arbelo boosted his team-best RBI total to 25, which ranks fifth in the league.

Of further encouragement was the six-inning start of Enrique Burgos, who allowed only two earned runs and added just one walk to his league-high total of 26.

“He’s a 19-year-old kid who has very good stuff,” Didier said. “We really like his arm and his velocity, plus he has a good changeup and breaking ball. He’s struggled some (0-0 with a 6.53 ERA coming in) and he’s still learning, but this was a very good outing for him.”

Arbelo, Mike Freeman and Raoul Torrez had two hits apiece and Zach Walters extended his hitting streak to seven games.

For the Hawks, Matt Szczur had an RBI double in the first to run his hitting streak to 18 — or every game the fifth-round draft pick from Villanova has played for Boise.

Roberto Ortiz, meanwhile, drove in two first-inning runs with an opposite-field, bloop single, and gave winning pitcher Hale (2-2) a boost in the ninth when he ran down Jeff Vigurs’ drive into the left-field corner, then threw the Boise catcher out at second.

“I like the way we’ve played for the vast majority of the season,” Didier said. “It’s a fun team to manage (Torrez’s run on a delayed double steal in the fifth, followed by a Walters theft in the sixth left Yakima’s stolen base total at  71 — or 22 more than Everett’s total that ranks second in the league).

“And I’ll tell you this — in all the years I’ve managed, whether it’s been triple-A, double-A or wherever — I have not had four guys in a bullpen be as dominant as Hale, Cantwell, Keith Hogben and Eury De La Rosa. The whole group of relievers — knock on wood so nothing happens to them — has been special.”

To be sure, the cumulative earned run average of Yakima’s relievers stands at a microscopic 1.94. Which is another reason Didier wished he didn’t have today off — almost.

*********

Bears 4, Hawks 3

BOISE                    YAKIMA

ab    r    h    bi        ab    r    h    bi

Ramirez rf    3    1    2    0    Hilt cf    4    1    1    0

LePage 2b    4    2    2    0    Freeman 2b    3    2    2    0

Szczur dh    3    0    1    2    Ortiz lf    4    0    1    2

Jones 1b    4    0    2    0    Walters ss    4    0    1    0

Morelli lf    4    0    0    0    Arbelo 1b    4    0    2    1

Alcantara ss    4    0    0    0    Gomez dh    4    0    1    0

Vigurs c    3    0    1    0    Zabala rf    3    0    1    0

Darvill 3b    3    0    0    0    Torrez 3b    3    1    2    0

Soto ph    1    0    0    0    Emsley-Pai c    2    0    0    0

Na cf    2    0    0    0

Totals    31    3    8    2    Totals    31    4    11    3

Boise    102    000    000    —    3

Yakima    200    010    01x    —    4

E—Zabala. PB—Vigurs. DP—Yakima 1. LOB—Boise 5, Yakima 5. 2B—Szczur, Freeman, Zabala. 3b—Arbelo. SF—Szczur. SB—Torrez, Walters. CS—Hilt, Ortiz, Torrez. Outfield assists—Na, Ortiz 2.

IP    H    R    ER    BB    SO

Boise

Loosen    4 1-3    7    3    3    1    2

Kirk L, 3-2    3 2-3    4    1    1    1    4

Yakima

Burgos    6    6    3    2    1    2

Cantwell    1    1    0    0    1    0

Hale W, 2-2    2    1    0    0    0    2

PO—Kirk 2. HBP—Ramirez (by Burgos). Umpires—Mike Terry, Chris Gonzalez. T—2:26. A—1,731.

Reilly signs with CFL’s BC Lions

Mike Reilly is hoping that a change of scenery — a change of country, even — will give him a chance to start his professional football career.

With that in mind, the former Central Washington great has signed with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.

“Just had my first practice,” Reilly said Monday afternoon in a telephone interview. “It’s a completely different game up here, so I’ve got a lot to learn.”

Reilly, who last took a competitive snap during Central’s 2008 NCAA Division II playoff loss at West Texas A&M, chose to join the Lions over an offer to work out with the New York Jets and compete for a roster spot during the NFL team’s summer camp.

“I discussed things with my agent and also with my wife,” he said, “and I decided that I wanted to get a little bit away from the grind of the NFL and the uncertainty that’s gone with it. Ultimately I thought my best chance at playing, which is what

I want to do, would be here.”

After setting virtually every school passing record during a four-year CWU career during which he started all 46 games and threw at least one touchdown pass in each, Reilly has had non-playing stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Rams and most recently the Seattle Seahawks.

Since being released by the Hawks last May, Reilly had been working for an engineering firm in Kennewick, where he lives with his wife, Jessica.

He had mentioned the CFL or even arena football as an option after leaving Seattle.

“I’m getting that itch to play,” he said Monday, “sort of like when I was at Washington State. When I left there I wanted to find the place where I’d have the best opportunity to get on the field and perform, which turned out to be Central.

“I’m hoping for a similar situation here, although with any professional football situation you’re never just handed a starting job. Injuries and other things usually figure into the mix.”

The Lions are 1-3 in the 19-week CFL season, and play Friday night at Edmonton. They list former Division I QBs Travis Lulay (Montana State), Casey Printers (Florida A&M) and Jarious Jackson (Notre Dame) on their roster with Lulay at the top of the depth chart.

Printers had been the starter until sustaining a knee injury, and Lulay threw a late interception that was returned for a touchdown in BC’s 24-20 loss last week at Toronto.

A team news release said Reilly had been assigned to the practice squad, although Reilly said discussions with team officials Monday had not confirmed his status. Nor was he certain as to how much a CFL practice squad might differ from the NFL version, on which players are not eligible for the coming week’s game.

“My understanding was that it’s all to be determined,” Reilly said. “It’s such a different game up here, the thing I’m most occupied with now is just learning the new game, the new system and the playbook.

“My whole thing now is just dealing with the things I can control, which is to learn the game and system as fast as I can. And maybe here is where it’ll pay off in the form of an opportunity to get on the field and play, which is all I’ve ever really hoped for.”

Local report: Zahler takes first in Hobby Stocks

Eric Zahler took first in the Hobby Stocks division at the State Fair Raceway on Saturday.

Other winners were Monica Howard in the Pure Stocks, Marcie Shull-Deserault in the Hornets, and Mark Mager in the Bump to Pass.

JULY 24 RESULTS

Pure Stocks

Heat: 1, Monica Howard; 2, Larry Tracy; 3, Mark Spittlemiester; 4, Sylvia Stahl; 5, Kristi Tracy; 6, Gene Thorpe. Trophy Dash: K. Tracy. Main: 1, Howard; 2, K. Tracy; 3, L. Tracy; 4, Spittlemeister; 5, Thorpe; 6, Stahl.

Hornets

Heat: 1, Wayne Griffith; 2, Josh Henne; 3, Marcie Shull-Deserault; 4, Paul Townsend; 5, Robert Patton; 6, Ryan Scott. Trophy Dash: Shull-Deserault. Main: 1, Shull-Deserault; 2, Griffith; 3, Townsend; 4, Scott.

Bump to Pass

Heat: 1, Merle Stiltner; 2, Frank Stiltner; 3, Mark Mager; 4, Daric Shoemaker. Trophy Dash: Mager. Main: 1, Mager; 2, Shoemaker; 3, M. Stiltner; 4, F. Stiltner.

Hobby Stocks

Heat 1: 1, Brent Townley; 2, Larry Tracy; 3, Bryan Corrigan; 4, Duane D’Amico; 5, Blair Shoemaker; 6, James Emmons. Heat 2: 1, Eric Zahler; 2, Dylan Dow; 3, Matt Chappel; 4, Steve Latt; 5, Wally Denhauf; 6, Vaile Thompson. Trophy Dash: Townley. Main: 1, Zahler; 2, Townley; 3, Corrigan; 4, Denhauf; 5, Daric Shoemaker; 6, Emmons; 7, B. Shoemaker; 8, Dow; 9, Tracy; 10, Chappel; 11, D’Amico; 12, Latt; 13, Sylvia Stahl.

*******
Little League

11-12 STATE TOURNAMENT

At Elma

Sunday: Auburn 11, West Valley 0.
Monday: West Valley 6, Fort Vancouver 4 (WV: Justin VanDeBrake HR, 3 RBI; Jake King 2-3.)

This year’s sockeye run offers up good eats

Medical studies have shown that eating fish is good for your brain.  If that is the case, I should be quickly approaching some sort of average intelligence level based on the amount of fresh salmon I have consumed recently.

The past five nights I have dined on fresh sockeye salmon three times.  And I believe it is on the menu again tonight.  Served with local fresh sweet corn on the cob, and some sliced melon, man, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Now a few of you may be asking, “where did you get all of that fresh sockeye, Rob?”

No, unfortunately, I didn’t just get back from Alaska.  I caught a bunch of the beautiful little salmon in the Columbia River, not three hours from home.

Right now there are more than 200,000 sockeye in the upper Columbia near the towns of Pateros and Brewster.  The feisty fish are on their way to spawn in Lake Osoyoos on the Washington/Canadian border.  To get to Lake Osoyoos, the fish must migrate up the Okanogan River.

But the Okanogan, this time of year gets very warm, so the salmon hold out in the Columbia, waiting for the waters to cool to complete their journey.  As they hold in the bigger, cooler Columbia, they become accessible to anglers and they are more eager to bite a lure, or bait, or even a red hook.

I’ve fished the Columbia before above Wells Dam near Brewster for the summer chinook that also are available there this time of year, and during those trips have caught several sockeye almost on accident. The trip up to Brewster last Friday was specifically to catch the great- eating little salmon.

I got a call from former Yakima resident and now well-known Lake Chelan fishing guide Anton Jones of Darrel and Dad’s Guide Service. He had an empty seat on one of his boats that was going to fish at Brewster and asked if I wanted to jump in. Wild horses couldn’t have kept me away.

Former Selah resident, now guide Andy Byrd was the captain of the boat, and with the able assistance of guide Jeff Witkowski, we were into fish almost from the minute we dropped our gear in the water at first light.  When the last fish was dropped into the cooler at high noon, we had caught 18 very respectable sockeyes running from 2 to 5 pounds, with the majority being cookie cutters in the four pound range.

Even with their long journey up the Columbia, over several dams and hundreds of miles of river, the sockeye are in remarkable shape.  Some have lost their shiny, silvery color, but the meat is still as red as you’ll find on sockeye anywhere, and the flavor is outstanding when grilled on the barbecue with just a little butter and lemon juice!

Byrd and Witkowski have been fishing for the sockeye for a couple of weeks and pretty well had the rigging for catching them dialed in.  Actually their rigging was pretty simple.  They ran a double red hook setup on a leader that was anywhere from 10 to 20 inches below a 00 silver dodger.

Above the hooks they had 5 or 6 red beads and above that they had a silver mylar smiley blade that turned as an attractor.  When I go up there again, I’m going to try a small Spin-N-Glo with mylar wings as the attractor because I think that would work as well.  On each of the hooks they would place a small chunk of prawn that was dyed bright pink.

The whole outfit was let out 20 feet or so and then hooked to a downrigger that was lowered from 20 to 30 feet in depth.  We trolled fairly slow in 30 to 70 feet of water just outside the mouth of the Okanogan.

Byrd said previous days the catching hadn’t been quite as good as the day we fished, but they were still averaging four to five fish per angler, which isn’t bad at all.  The limit on sockeye is six per day.

Typically the fishing for the sockeye remains good for at least a couple of weeks.  And the fishing for the big summer chinook there should start picking up any day.  If you go, take plenty of sunscreen and a large umbrella. The temperatures there are similar to here, and there is rarely a breeze and no shade.

I’ll be heading back to Brewster soon–for the big kings, and for some more sockeye, because there may be no better eating salmon.  Adding to the intelligence quotient is an added bonus.  And believe me, some of us need it desperately!
• Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.

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