WDFW extends Yakima spring season through July

YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima River salmon anglers are getting the very thing they wanted — an extension of the fishery into July, to make up for the largely worthless fishing in the first two weeks of May.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife last week announced it was extending its Yakima River spring chinook fishery through the entire month of July. It had originally been scheduled to close this Thursday.

But while the fishery will be officially open through July, no one really expects too many anglers to be out there in the heat of the last week or two of the month.

“We’ll give it the whole month, but it may not last that long,” said WDFW regional fish program manager John Easterbrooks. “It self-regulates. The guys that are fishing below Roza, they talk to Mark Johnston and Joe Hoptowit (who each work at the Yakama Nation’s monitoring station at Roza Dam) all the time, and monitoring the counts at Roza is instant feedback. As long as anglers are still catching fish below Roza, it’s worth keeping it going. If they stop catching fish below Roza, I expect the effort to drop off.

“Once it gets to be about 95 or 100 degrees out there and the number of fish to catch gets really low, they’ll all go away and the fishery will die a peaceful death from natural causes. I expect that to happen before July 31. I’ll be really shocked if there are still people catching fish through July 31.”

The daily counts at Roza, though, indicate there are still a lot of springers to catch.

Nearly 9,700 chinook were through Prosser by the beginning of last week and fewer than 3,700 had been counted through Roza, meaning there were still thousands of salmon in those 80 river miles. On June 18, 588 springers were counted at Roza, and two days later another 299 were counted.

“And of those 299,” Easterbrooks said, “145 adults and 58 jacks were hatchery fish, which were legal to keep.That’s telling me there are still significant numbers of catchable fish in the upper portion of the fishing area, and that it’s still worth fishing.”

The fishery extension may take away some of the sting of the first two weeks of the season, when the late-starting run meant there were almost no salmon in the Yakima River — which was already swollen to nearly unfishable levels and visibility by heavy rains.

The daily limit remains two hatchery chinook with a minimum size of 12 inches.

06/28/11 Outdoors What’s Happening

RCO announcement: ‘Heart’ funds official

As expected, a grant that will complete the “Heart of the Cascades” state-lands acquisition in the Bald Mountain/Rock Creek area was among the projects list announced last Thursday for funding through the Recreation and Conservation Office in the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP).

The $2.7 million Heart of the Cascades grant will enable the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to complete a three-phase purchase of property within a 36-square-mile area north of State Route 410 that is viewed as critical habitat for a number of wildlife species, notably elk and mountain goats.

Other announced WWRP grants include $1.9 million to the Klickitat Canyon Natural Resource Conservation Area to protect a major rest stop for sandhill cranes; $275,271 for the Middle Fork Ahtanum Trailhead and Trail; $685,857 toward the Columbia Land Trust’s purchase of property to prevent development in the Trout Lake valley; and $145,500 to restore meadows at the Trout Lake Natural Area Preserve.

The funding was expected after last month’s 2011-13 Capital Budget included $42 million in funding for WWRP projects.

 

Grueling Gray Rock runs slated July 9

The Grey Rock Trail Runs — 50K (31.1 miles), 25K (15.6) and 12K (7.5) races over rugged and beautiful trails offering views of Mount Rainier and Mount Adams — are coming up on July 9, beginning and ending at Tree Phones Campground in the Ahtanum State Forest.

The runs aren’t for the faint of heart or the afraid-of-hills — the 50K has more than 6,000 feet of elevation gain. And while they’re being put on by the Hard Core Runners Club and race director Eric Anderson, with aid stations at 12K, 24K and 36K, participants should still carry water and snacks.

The field is limited to the first 150 entrants (all distances combined), and registration is available online at ultrasignup.com or by downloading an application at www.hcrunners.org. For more information, contact Anderson at 509-961-4680 or mtnrun1@gmail.com.

Of note: Participants won’t need to have a Discover Pass for this Grey Rock event, but that probably won’t be the case in future years.

 

Ahtanum travelers: logging traffic ahead

Outdoor recreationists heading into the Ahtanum State Forest should be aware of heavy truck traffic from an active timber harvest that began Monday in the Klickitat Meadows and is expected to run through late October, depending on weather.

During the timber operation, 20 to 30 log or chip trucks will be coming through on a daily basis, as well as road graders and water trucks maintaining the roads. The large parking area at Tree Phones Campground will be closed as a staging area, though the campground itself will remain open.

 

BIRD ALERT

Birders on a walk around Hardy Canyon in the Wenas Valley were treated to an impressive bird list of 48 species.

Highlights included a bushtit in chokecherry and rose bushes with a hefty green caterpillar in its beak, a good indication it was feeding young. A least flycatcher was making its che-bekking call in a dense thickets of aspen and a Bewick’s wren was singing in dense thickets. Other birds of note were common nighthawk, willow flycatcher, pacific-slope flycatcher, Say’s phoebe, eastern kingbird, rock wren, gray catbird, yellow-breasted chat and Bullock’s oriole.

At the Wenas creek campground a nice mix of birds, with some of the more notable including turkey vulture, prairie falcon, Lewis’s woodpecker, red-naped sapsucker, hairy woodpecker, pileated woodpecker, loggerhead shrike, warbling vireo, Steller’s jay, western bluebird, mountain bluebird, Townsend’s solitaire, hermit thrush, cedar waxwing, lazuli bunting and Cassin’s finch.

Other interesting sightings this week included a small group of three turkey vultures around the intersection of Barge and Gilbert that appeared to be looking for a roost. A pair of adult black-necked stilt with one chick was spotted on a farm pond between Granger and Outlook, and Eurasian collared doves were reported from the Blackrock Creek Golf Course in Sunnyside.

Please call your bird sightings into the Yakima Valley Audubon phone line at 248-1963.

— Kerry L. Turley

 

AROUND AND ABOUT

ICICLE OPENING: The Upper Icicle Road, a popular access into a number of destinations in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, is now open as far as the 4th of July Trailhead, and the trail itself is now open. The road remains closed beyond the trailhead while work crews remove the remains of a June 10 mudslide that closed the road and changed the creek’s main course, dumping mud and rocks along 300 feet of the Icicle Road. Final clean-up of the mud slide is expected to be complete by the 4th of July weekend and motorized access would be open to Ida Creek, allowing campers access to five of the valley’s eight developed campgrounds.

STURGEON EXTENSION: Anglers will get additional days to retain white sturgeon in the Columbia River estuary and in the Bonneville Pool. Washington and Oregon fishery managers announced late last week that anglers may catch and retain legal-size white sturgeon between the mouth of the Columbia River and the Wauna powerlines near Cathlamet through July 31, or until the harvest guideline is reached. The fishery, which opened in May, was originally scheduled to close June 27 and then re-open for four more days of fishing from July 1-4.

REITER/SKYKOMISH: The Reiter Ponds section of the Skykomish River opens Wednesday to recreational fishing from 1,000 feet downstream of the Reiter Ponds outlet to 1,500 feet upstream of the outlet. The Reiter Ponds Hatchery is on target to collect enough summer steelhead broodstock to meet production needs.

 

ON THE CALENDAR

THIS MORNING: The Cascadians’ Tuesdays will be heading up Fifes Crater, a nine-mile trek with 3,000 feet of elevation gain. The group meets at 7:30 a.m. at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart. Bring a lunch and lots of water; it’ll get hot with all that uphill.

TONIGHT: Mount Adams Cycling Club’s weekly Tuesday night ride, typically in the 24- to 30-mile range, leaves at 6 p.m. from YAC Fitness in Terrace Heights.

WEDNESDAY: Mount Adams Cycling’s weekly Naches Loop riders will take off from Suntides Golf Course at 6 p.m.

THURSDAY: The Cascadians’ Pokies will be trekking to the American River Ski Bowl and then down the American Ridge Trail. For meeting time and place, call Jeanne Crawford at 966-8608.

THURSDAY: Chinook Cycling’s weekly mountain bike trail ride at Cowiche Canyon gets under way at 6 p.m. at the Scenic Drive trailhead. For more on the club’s mountain-biking activities, call Jeff at Revolution Cycles at 509-452-0063.

THURSDAY: Mount Adams Cycling will hold its weekly easy Greenway ride for road-biking beginners and newcomers at 6 p.m., leaving from the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot. For more on the club’s rides and special events, go to www.mountadamscycling.org.

MONDAY: Chinook Cycling’s 15-mile Mellow Monday ride for beginners and newcomers leaves at 6 p.m. from Wide Hollow Elementary (Nob Hill and 72nd). For more the club’s schedule, go to www.chinookcycling.com.

Bears’ Comerota finishes what he starts

Infielder opens 9th with hit, caps 5-run rally with RBI single as Yakima stuns Devils||

YAKIMA, Wash. — He knew he didn’t have to touch second base, because the game had ended. Good thing, too, because Jimmy Comerota never would have made it.

“I only had one walkoff hit before,” he said, smiling broadly as his teammates continued their Sunday night celebration of a rousing, come-from-behind 6-5 defeat of Tri-City at Yakima County Stadium. “It was on a squeeze bunt in college, so this was my first actual walkoff hit. And I can’t tell you how good it feels.”

Comerota’s second hit of a five-run ninth inning that started with his own single to center, was a two-out, bases-loaded flare to right that scored Danny Pulfer.

Shortly after it dropped, to the howling delight of an announced group of 1,401, Comerota romped around first and was intercepted en route to second by a jubilant mob of teammates.

“In that situation,” manager Audo Vicente said, “with two out in the ninth inning and the bases loaded, the player we would want at the plate would be Jimmy. You know for sure that he will put the ball in play.”

The ball, it turned out, wasn’t all Comerota put in play.

“Man,” he said in a celebratory clubhouse, “it’s good to hear music in this room again.”

To appreciate the Bears’ combination of joy and relief, one must understand their previous struggles.

In the process of losing six of its previous seven games, Yakima (3-7) had labored in infamous fashion at the plate. In 30 innings after a 4-2 Thursday night triumph over Spokane, for example, the Bears had scored exactly two runs.

And until the ninth Sunday, Yakima had managed only one run on five safeties, trailing 5-1 and seemingly destined for another disheartening defeat.

But after Comerota led off the Bears’ ninth with his second hit of the game, Henry Zabala scorched another single off Chris Dennis, the third Tri-City pitcher.

A walk to Kerry Jenkins loaded the bases and ended Dennis’ outing, but Garrett Weber greeted his successor, Isaiah Froneberger, with a double over the head of Dust Devils’ left-fielder Tyler Massey, scoring Comerota and Zabala.

Jae Yun Kim walked to reload the sacks, and No. 9 hitter Danny Pulfer followed with a single to left-center that plated Jenkins and Weber to tie it.

Raul Navarro’s sacrifice bunt was then almost caught on the fly by a diving third baseman Dominic Altobelli, who threw Navarro out as the runners moved up.

Zach Jones was intentionally walked to again load the bases after which the lead man, pinch-runner Justin Hilt, was cut down at the plate for the second out on Tyler Bream’s bouncer to first, leaving runners at first and third.

Up again was Comerota, who has come to be called Jimmy Baseball by his teammates and coaches. Down 1-2 in the count, he fouled off two pitches before punching his game-winner just beyond T-C first baseman Blake McDade and second baseman David Hernandez.

While Comerota’s three hits raised his average to .300, Weber finished 4 for 4 with a pair of doubles.

“I’ve had four hits in games before,” he said, “but it feels especially good to do it for the first time at this level, and also in a game we won. Especially the way we won it.”

The hitting heroics got a first professional win for Drew Zizinia, who’d been perfect with a strikeout in the top of the inning.

“Turning points are hard, because you never know until after the season whether a certain game or play actually has had that much impact,” said Comerota. “But we’ve been doing good things. We’ve played hard. Garrett’s double — he killed that ball, and that was huge. Raul’s bunt moved guys up.

“Hopefully, this will give us some confidence and momentum, and we’ll go forward from here.”

Altobelli doubled, singled and drove in three of four runs for Tri-City (5-5) off Bears’ starter Randy Hamrick. McDade’s RBI triple off Sammy De Los Santos capped the Devils’ scoring in the eighth.

Bream, who doubled and scored in the fourth, has hit safely in eight of his last nine games.

 

Local report — Pak suffers narrow loss in Reno title game

RENO, Nev. — If Yakima Valley could have just one pitch back, it might have come home with a championship.

Instead, Derek Odell’s three-run fifth inning home run spoiled an otherwise solid outing by Pak pitcher D.J. Smith and gave the Oklahoma Travelers a 3-1 victory in Sunday’s championship game of the Josh Anderson Memorial Senior Legion baseball tournament.

Hugo Lemus’ solo homer in the second gave the Pak an early lead and Smith made it stand until his one mistake to Odell, who is going to play baseball at Texas Christian University.

Smith finished with a complete-game six-hitter. He struck out three.

Oklahoma’s Seth McCurry also had a complete-game six-hitter, and he fanned nine.

Yakima Valley’s Tyler Gallaway was named the tournament’s defensive MVP.

Yakima Valley finished 4-2 in the tournament and fell to 14-9 overall. The Pak’s scheduled game with Hermiston on Wednesday has been canceled.

Yakima Valley 010 000 0 — 1 6 0

Oklahoma Travelers 000 030 0 — 3 6 0

Smith and Finn; McCurry and Palmer.

Highlights: Hugo Lemus (YV) 2-3, 2b, HR; D.J. Smith (YV) 3 K’s; Tyler Gallaway (YV) tournament defensive MVP; Seth McCurry (O) 9 K’s; Derek Odell (O) 3-run HR.

Beetles take third in Wyoming

GILLETTE, Wyo. — Eric Sauve had a two-run single, part of a three-RBI day, and the Yakima Pepsi Beetles used a six-run fourth inning to pull away for a 10-5 victory over the Colorado Outlaws to take third place in the Hladkey Memorial Senior Legion baseball tournament Sunday.

Yakima finished 3-2 in the tournament — with two of those victories coming against the Outlaws — and improved to 13-16 overall.

Jens Jensen had two doubles and also threw the first three innings, with Hunter Hanson finishing up on a combined nine-hitter.

Yakima 022 600 0 — 10 7 0

Colorado Outlaws 300 100 1 — 5 9 3

Jensen, Hanson (4) and Sauve, Alexander (7); Cambier, Divita (3), Durkin (4) and Ullman.

Highlights: Jens Jensen (Y) 2-4, 2 2b; Eric Sauve (Y) 2-run 1b, 3 RBI.

Youth Baseball

BRENT EDWARDS MEMORIAL

(At Selah)

MOUNT VERNON 13, WEST VALLEY BASEBALL CLUB 8 (CHAMPIONSHIP): Andrew Pfaff 1-3, RBI; Cole Morgan 1-3, RBI.

WALLA WALLA INVITATIONAL

MERIDIAN 4, JUNIOR BEETLES 3: Kevin Smith CG, 2 ER; Gavin Rodriguez 2-3.

Youth Fastpitch

SELAH STATE WARMUP TOURNAMENT

SELAH 18-U 12, YAKIMA TIGERS 2: Ashley Wilkey 4-4, GS, 3 runs, 4 RBI; Cheyenne Fletcher 4-4, 2 runs; Sarah Bersing 2-3, 2b, run, RBI; Taylor Rath 2-2, 3b, run, RBI; Kari Grow 2-3, run, RBI; Shelby Wilkey 1-3, run, RBI; Carly Minnick 1 H, 4 K’s in 4 IP.

SPOKANE DIAMONDS 1 8, SELAH U-18 7 (10) (CHAMPIONSHIP GAME): A. Wilkey 2-5, 2 runs; Bersing 2-5, run, RBI; Bailey Turner 1-4, run, 3 RBI; Minnick 2-5; S. Wilkey 2-4; Grow 1-3, run.

YAKIMA STEALERS 9, SPOKANE DIAMONDS 2 5: Gracie Hernandez 2-3; Jessica McEver 2-4; Anissa Araiza 2-3; Haley Stottlemyre 2-4.

SPOKANE DIAMONDS 1 6, YAKIMA STEALERS 0: Samantha Robillard 2-3; Melanie Swanson 2-3.

WEST VALLEY TIGERS 4, YAKIMA STEALERS WEST 2 (THIRD, FOURTH PLACE GAME): McEver 2-4.

6/27/11 Mid-Summer Classic soccer photo gallery

 

Photos from Sunday’s action in the Mid-Summer Classic youth soccer tournament in Yakima. All photos by Andy Sawyer/Yakima Herald-Republic.

Sunday’s Mid-Summer Classic soccer results

GIRLS

U-11 Division

Semiahmoo Select 2, LWPFC White Piranhas 1; Ephrata Panthers 2, Mighty Dragons 0; Semiahmoo Select 1 9; Norpoint FC 00 1; Sun City Strikers 00 Arias 2, LWPFC White Barracudas 0; RVS FC 00 Pogson Slammers 7, 3-Rivers-Sisemore 2. Gold Championship: Semiahmoo Select 1 4, Sun City Strikers 00 Arias 0. Silver Championship: Semiahmoo Select 2 3, Ephrata Panthers 1.

U-12 Division

LHSC Infinity 2, Upper Valley Magic 0; Wenatchee Fire 99 Black 7, Crush 0; Sun City Strikers 99 Gonzalez 13, SHSC Revolution 99 Red 0; SHSC Revolution 99 Black 10, Sun City Strikers 99 Kromah 0. Gold Championship: Sun City Strikers 99 Gonzalez 3, SHSC Revolution 99 Red 2. Silver Championship: Crush 3, Upper Valley Magic 1.

U-13 Division

Cascade FC 98 2, Snohomish United 98 White 0; Pacific Ice 98 7, Rockstars 0; SCS Alexander 2, SHSC Revoution 98 Black 0. Championship: SHSC Revolution Black 3, Cascade FC 98 0. Third place: Pacific Ice 98.

U-14 Division

SHSC Revolution 97 Black 2, Semiahmoo United 0; 3-Rivers Galioto 2 2, Semiahmoo Attack 1; SHSC Revolution 97 Black 3, T-CYSA Nitro 0; Sun City Strikers 97 Farrand 7, Sun City Strikers 97-Lopez 0; Semiahmoo United 3, CB United 97 0. Gold Championship: Sun City Strikers 97 Farrand 4, SHSC Revolution 97 Black 0. Third place: Semiahmoo United. Silver Championship: Semiahmoo Attack 4, UB United 0. Third place: T-CYSA Nitro.

U-15 Division

Renegade FC-Fire 10, OISC 96 Elite 0; Tracyton Tornados 6, Kent United 96 Green 0; SHSC Revolution 96 Black 5, Naches Valley Elite 0. Championship: SHSC Revolution 96 Black 5, Renegade FC-Fire 1. Consolation: Tracyton Tornados 1, Sun City Strikers 96 Mendoza 0.

High School Division

FWU Reign 93 White 5, SHSC Revolution 93/94 1; SHSC Revolution 95 Black 1, Legacy 0; FWFC Reign 94 Black 6, Timberbarons 0. Championship: FWU Reign 93 White 2, SHSC Revolution 93/94 1.

BOYS

U-11 Division

Highland Scotties 7, Lightning 0; Yakima Jr. Sounders 3, WV Jr. Rams 2; FC Alliance Gold 4, PASC White 4; Sun City Strikers 00 Ceniceros 9, Cascade FC 00 Green 1; Tigers 3, Cascade FC 00 White 2. Championship: Sun City Strikers 00 Ceniceros 10, Highland Scotties 0. Consolation: PASC White 3, Yakima Jr. Sounders 2.

U-12 Division

Eastside FC 99 White 3, SHSC Revolution-Howes 0; PASC White 4, Legacy FC 99-Maroon 0; ASE Desert Storm 11, Yakima Valley Heat 10. Championship: ASE Desert Storm 4, Eastside FC 99 White 1. Consolation: Sun City Strikers 99-Sagare 3, PASC White 1.

High School Division

Cascade FC 96 2, NYSC Spartans 0; Toppenish Wildcats 7. Norpoint FC 95 Strong 0; 3-Rivers 94 Alvarado 4; MVP Rapids 96 Navy 0. Championship: Toppenish Wildcats 1, Sun City Strikers 95’ Anabtawi 0. Silver Championship: Cascade FC 96 3, NYSC Spartans 0.

West passes late test; future PLU teammates lead the way

YAKIMA, Wash. — All week long, Kyle Warner and Dalton Ritchey had talked about what they hoped to accomplish together over the next four years as football teammates at Pacific Lutheran University.

Then the receiver from Tumwater and the quarterback from Onalaska gave fans and foes a glimpse of it while leading the West to a 23-14 victory over the East in Saturday’s Earl Barden All-Star Classic at Zaepfel Stadium.

“We were roommates this week, and he kept telling me, ‘If I’ve got a defender step-for-step with me, throw it up there and I’ll go get it.’ I did that, and he got it,” Ritchey said of his back-to-back 29- and 34-yard bombs that led to Sean McNealley’s go-ahead 26-yard field goal with 3:30 remaining.

Both grabs were remarkable because Warner was perfectly covered each time, the first by Westburg-Prescott’s Kris Cady and then by Tri-Cities Prep’s Troy Redmann, arguably the East’s best coverage back. On the first, Warner made a leaping grab on a ball that seemed beyond his reach, but was quick to credit Ritchey.

“It was a perfect pass,” said Warner, who was named West offensive MVP after his seven-catch, 113-yard receiving day that included two first-half touchdowns on passes from Ritchey and Willapa Valley’s Matthew Friese. “Dalton’s a really good quarterback, and he put it where only I could catch it.

“It was a better pass than it was a catch, in my opinion. If the pass had been any shorter, it would have been picked off.”

On the very next play, Ritchey hit him on a bomb to the other side of the field, with the 6-3 Warner using his height advantage to outleap and outwrestle the 6-0 Redmann for the ball at the East 15-yard-line. When the West’s next three plays netted only five yards, Montesano’s McNealley came in to attempt the field goal, with Ritchey holding.

“I’m confident on anything inside of 40 yards,” said McNealley, who had kicked three field goals this season and had a career long of 40 yards. “I was a little nervous. I didn’t want to let my teammates down.”

When McNealley’s boot slipped just inside the right upright, the West had what would prove to be the winning points in this 17th annual showdown of the state’s best Class 2A, 1A, 2B and 1B players. The final points came when Ritchey, scrambling on fourth-and-six as the West was trying to run out the clock, broke free around the left side for a 19-yard touchdown run with 1:07 remaining.

The West had led 13-0 through 2 1/2 quarters before committing the game’s only turnover, a fumble at its own 37. Three plays later, East quarterback Alex Teade of Colfax double-pumped and unleashed a 37-yard scoring strike to East offensive MVP Brendan Barrington of Pullman, who accumulated 108 yards on his four receptions — on two of which he held onto the ball despite receiving bone-jarring hits that slammed him to the Zaepfel turf.

On the East’s next possession, Colville’s quarterback Sawyer Bardwell led a 12-play, 85-yard scoring march, hitting three of four passes — one of them to Barrington — and getting an 18-yard run from explosive little (155-pound) Chance Watt of River View that set the East up with a first-and-goal. Bardwell bulled into the end zone from three yards out and kicked his second extra point for a 14-13 lead.

In the end, though, the West had too much defense — led by its defensive MVPs, Friese and North Mason’s Tevin Williams — and too much Ritchey-to-Warner. But the ebbs and flows and closeness of the game, the misleading final score notwithstanding, made Saturday’s game a winner for the fans.

And the players had a blast.

“The last four days it was like we’d been together all season — we were that tight,” said Toppenish’s Carlos Ramirez, who was named the East’s defensive MVP after being a sideline-to-sideline tackling and pass-defending terror from his linebacker spot. “Everybody played outstanding.

“All in all, it was just a really great time.”

West 7 6 0 10 — 23

East 0 0 7 7 — 14

W — Kyle Warner 22 pass from Matthew Friese (Sean McNealley kick)

W — Warner 10 pass from Dalton Ritchey (kick failed)

E — Brendan Barrington 37 pass from Alex Teade (Sawyer Bardwell kick)

E — Bardwell 3 run (Bardwell kick)

W — FG McNealley 26

W — Ritchey 19 run (McNealley kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — West, Zach Baldwin (Centralia) 12-54, Ryan Vongmixay (South Bend) 3-49, Ritchey (Onalaska) 8-41, Lawyer Tillman (North Thurston) 8-31, McNealley (Montesano) 5-15, Friese (Willapa Valley) 2-7, Brycen Holmes (Chehalis) 1-5, Kyler Howell (Concrete) 2-4. East, Chance Watt (River View) 7-51, Carlos Ramirez (Toppenish) 6-26, Teade (Colfax) 4-18, Kris Cady (Waitsburg-Prescott) 3-14, Bardwell (Colville) 3-13.

PASSING — West, Ritchey 7-13-0 104, Friese 1-1-0 22, McNealley 1-2-0 10. East, Bardwell 7-15-0 129, Teade 4-8-0 53, Brady Arnone (Clarkston) 1-11-0 12.

RECEIVING — West, Warner (Tumwater) 7-113, Holmes 1-13, Friese 1-10. East, Barrington (Pullman) 4-108, Joey Strehlo (East Valley-Spok.) 2-13, Hayden Wing (Kiona-Benton) 1-48, Ramirez 1-9, Tyler McNair (Cashmere) 1-5, Jake Reynolds (East Valley-Spok.) 1-5, Zach Tackwell (Mark Morris) 1-4, Kraymer Eppich (Connell) 1-2.

06/25/11 Earl Barden All-Star Classic photo gallery

Photos from Saturday’s Earl Barden All-Star Classic football game at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima, Wash. All photos by Andy Sawyer of the Yakima Herald-Republic.

Bears lose control: Walks, wild pitch lead Tri-City past Yakima

YAKIMA, Wash. — When it rains, it … well, even in a desert climate, you get the idea.

The Bears, who have struggled with the bats this season, got extremely solid wood on a one-out drive by Tyler Bream in the sixth inning Saturday night against Tri-City. The ball rocketed through the left-center field gap, skipped off the warning track and then the wall, and figured to put a runner in scoring position with the middle of the batting order due up.

But Bream lost his footing rounding first base, staggered for several steps and then fell. Forced to retreat, Bream was then erased when Jimmy Comerota banged into a double play, and the baserunning mishap would loom large in and also typify a game Yakima would eventually lose, 6-1 in 13 innings.

The end, with precious few remaining from an announced crowd of 1,465 at Yakima County Stadium, came due largely to walks on a night when Bears pitchers did not issue a free pass through the first 11 frames.

But while Miles Reagan, Yakima’s fifth hurler, escaped trouble in the 12th after walking the leadoff hitter, he duplicated the feat to start a five-run Dust Devil 13th.

A sacrifice bunt and single followed to load the bases, after which Tri-City (5-4) scored the game’s first run since the second inning on a wild pitch. Another run scored when catcher Zach Jones scrambled to retrieve the ball and bounced his throw off the first runner and past Reagan, who was covering home.

The Devils added three more runs on three more walks — the last two by Mike Blake — and two more singles.

It was an especially disheartening loss for the Bears (2-7), who managed just four hits a night after being shut out by Spokane on the same number of safeties. They have lost six of their last seven.

The defeat also was Yakima’s second extra-inning loss in four nights, following a 9-5, 16-inning setback to the Indians on Wednesday.

Wasted was a third straight evening of standout Bears pitching — for 11 innings, that is.

Starter John Pedrotty went just four due to a pitch count, and allowed one run on three hits while striking out three and walking none.

Next was Alex Capaul, who yielded only one hit over three frames, fanning one and walking none. Kable Hogben was then his usual un-hittable self through the eighth and ninth, striking out five of the six hitters he faced and retiring the other on a weak fly to right.

Following his 2010 season here in which he compiled 10 saves and a 0.72 earned-run average, the Australian right-hander this year has not allowed a run over four appearances and eight innings. He’s been reached for just three hits and has not walked a batter while fanning 13.

Between Capaul, Hogben and Evan Marshall, who worked the 10th and 11th, Yakima retired 15 straight hitters and 23 of 24.

Yakima’s first run came in the second via Comerota’s leadoff walk and Henry Zabala’s one-out double just inside the bag at third.

The Bears could have gotten more, given that Zabala moved up on a passed ball, Justin Hilt was hit by a pitch and Garrett Weber reached on catcher’s interference to load the bases.

But Steve Rodriguez struck out and Weber was picked off first.

The Dust Devils had scored in the top of the inning when Ryan Casteel crushed a two-out double to right-center and came home on Juan Crousset’s single to right.

06/25/11 Yakima Bears update

Next game

 

Opponent: Tri-City Dust Devils.

When, where: 5:35 p.m. today, Yakima County Stadium.

Radio: KUTI (1460).

Probable pitchers: Yakima RHP Randy Hamrick (0-1, 3.60) vs. Tri-City RHP Nelson Gonzalez (0-0, 1.23).

 

Notes

 

RECONNECTING: Mike Bell, the Arizona Diamondbacks director of player development, will be in town for most of the Bears’ ongoing six-game homestand.

Having managed here in 2007, Bell became fond of Yakima and the Valley, and said recently that he’s been out on the greenway and is looking forward to visiting the Farmer’s Market today.

Of the 2011 Bears, Bell said, “This is a team that will have to pitch and play defense.”

Mel Stottlemyre Jr., meanwhile, has also been here as the D-backs’ short-season pitching coordinator and said he hopes to get in some fishing with his father, who lives in Issaquah. The preferred destination is Lake Roosevelt.

Stottlemyre said Mel Sr. had taken his old mentor Bobo Brayton to the lake last summer and that Brayton caught a 10-pound walleye, which he has since had mounted.

Mel Jr. was born in Prosser in 1963, the year before his dad was called up to the New York Yankees. The Davis High School graduate resides during the offseason with his family in Lewiston, Idaho.

 

PHAN PHROM APHAR: Bears outfielder Justin Hilt, who as a youth could see Veterans Stadium from his backyard, remains a staunch Phillies fan. So we will check in periodically this summer for Justin’s take on the team with the all-world pitching rotation and, beginning play Saturday, the big leagues’ best record (48-29):

“Losing Oswalt (15-day disabled list) hurts. Even though he’s probably the weakest guy in that rotation, he’s still Roy Oswalt. And we need to get Lidge back. But once the weather heats up in Philly, home runs will start flying out of that ballpark and the Phillies will be hitting most of ’em.”

Hilt, as of Saturday, predicted 108 Philadelphia victories this year and that Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels will each win 20 or more games.

 

STREAKS: Tyler Bream’s 0-for-4 performance in Friday night’s 5-0 loss to Spokane snapped a six-game hitting streak. … Jimmy Comerota has not committed an error in 83 chances at first base. … Drew Zizinia, a free-agent signee from Tulane, pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning Friday night with two strikeouts in his professional debut.

— Roger Underwood

 

Box score

 

Tri-City 6, Yakima 1 (13)

TRI-CITY YAKIMA

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Squier dh 4 0 0 0 Navarro ss 6 0 0 0

Massey dh 1 1 0 0 Jones c 4 0 0 0

Smalling ss 5 1 2 0 Bream 3b 5 0 1 0

Reyes cf 4 1 0 0 Comerota 1b 4 1 0 0

Simon rf 6 0 0 0 Jenkins cf 5 0 0 0

Ribera 1b 6 0 1 2 Zabala lf 5 0 2 1

Casteel c 5 1 1 0 Hilt rf 4 0 0 0

Crousset lf 5 1 2 2 Weber 2b 4 0 0 0

Langfels 3b 5 0 0 0 Rodriguez dh 3 0 0 0

Hernandez 2b 5 1 2 0 Weber ss 1 0 1 0

Totals 46 6 8 4 Totals 41 1 4 1

Tri-City 010 000 000 000 5 — 6

Yakima 010 000 000 000 0 — 1

E—Casteel, Crousset, Hilt, Jones. DP—Tri-City 2. LOB—Tri-City 8, Yakima 6. 2B—Casteel, Zabala. S—Langfels.

IP H R ER BB SO

Tri-City

Gagnon 5 1-3 2 1 1 1 5

Benningson 3 2-3 1 0 0 0 2

Roberts 2 0 0 0 2 1

Lo W,2-0 2 1 0 0 0 2

Yakima

Pedrotty 4 3 1 1 0 3

Capaul 3 1 0 0 0 1

Hogben 2 0 0 0 0 5

Marshall 2 1 0 0 0 0

Reagan L,0-1 1 1-3 1 4 4 4 0

Blake 2-3 2 1 1 2 2

WP—Marshall, Reagan 3. PB—Casteel, Jones. HBP—Hilt (by Gagnon). Umpires—Carlos Martinez, Sean Ryan. T—3:24. A—1,465.

 

Standings

 

EAST DIVISION

W L Pct. GB

Spokane (Rangers) 6 3 .667 —

Boise (Cubs) 5 4 .556 1

Tri-City (Rockies) 5 4 .556 1

Yakima (D-backs) 2 7 .222 4

WEST DIVISION

W L Pct. GB

Eugene (Padres) 7 2 .778 —

Vancouver (Blue Jays) 7 2 .778 —

Everett (Mariners) 3 6 .333 4

Salem-Keizer (Giants) 1 8 .111 6

Saturday’s results

Boise 10, Spokane 4

Eugene 5, Everett 4

Vancouver 11, Salem-Keizer 9

Tri-City 6, Yakima 1 (13)

Today’s games

Eugene at Everett, 1:05 p.m.

Vancouver at Salem-Keizer, 5:05 p.m.

Tri-City at Yakima, 5:35 p.m.

Spokane at Boise, 6:15 p.m.

Monday’s Games

Spokane at Boise, 6:15 p.m.

Vancouver at Salem-Keizer, 6:35 p.m.

Tri-City at Yakima, 7:05 p.m.

Eugene at Everett, 7:05 p.m.

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