Bridging the gap

YAKIMA, Wash. — For Mark Reiss, getting to “the mudhole” — a trail-engulfing, shoe-swallowing quagmire just off State Route 410 — meant a three-hour, one-way drive from his home in Auburn in mid-June, before Chinook Pass opened for the season.

The distance was less for Mike Drougas of Yakima, which simply meant he’d have more time to spend getting his hands dirty.

But for Reiss, Drougas and other members of the Wenas Valley Chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen of Washington, long hours in the car and many more hours of physical labor was a small price to pay to build a trail bridge over a 50-foot-long span of the Pleasant Valley Trail.

The volunteers were, after all, eradicating a problem that had been deepening, quite literally, for more than a decade.

“It got worse year after year after year,” said Bob Badgley of Selah, one of a dozen or so Wenas Valley BCHW. “When my wife and I would ride (through) that, it would suck the shoes right off the horses’ feet. We looked for ways around the bog and there just wasn’t any.”

“The mud was belly-deep on a horse,” said Reiss, who retired this year after a career in the construction industry retiree. “And, of course, it was 48 feet long of mud, too. It was inevitable that we’d have to put this in.”

So Drougas, the chapter director, did what the BCHW had done a couple of years earlier on a similar (but, at 18 feet, smaller) trail-bridge project: He approached Naches Ranger District officials to say the chapter would be willing to donate the necessary work if the Forest Service could come up with the grant money to pay for the bridge-building materials.

“(District officials) don’t have the manpower and there’s a need, so we kind of identify the need and say, OK, what do we need to do?” Drougas said. “That mudhole has been a problem for a long time, so I finally approached them and said we want to fix this.”

The Naches Ranger District was definitely receptive.

“It’s been on the radar for probably 10 years,” Naches Ranger District trails foreman Jeff Leisy said of the mudhole, which he said constituted a safety issue. “You think about putting a 1,000-pound horse or mule, they sink to their belly and they flounder, and they start jumping around trying to get out and you could have an animal break a leg.

“The whole area’s boggy, so I think a lot of people were avoiding it. They’d get there, go Naah and just turn around.”

The bridge work, of course, would change that.

Reiss used his construction expertise to design the bridge and over three days in June, Backcountry Horsemen volunteers — working in cooperation with Leisy and his crew — built and installed it.

Because the mudhole was in designated Wilderness — the William O. Douglas — the structural components and tools had to be hauled in by non-motorized means. So the BCHW volunteers hauled it in with pack horses and camped nearby during the three-day construction project, sharing potluck dinners each night with the Forest Service crew.

After the bridge was completed, more volunteer trail crews, this time from the Washington Trails Association (WTA), constructed gravel ramps on each end of the bridge and safety rails along its length.

The “mudhole” bridge project was a prime example of the new norm in public land-management practices. Trail maintenance and improvement projects that were once done by professional trail crews and paid for by general budget dollars must now rely on innovative grant applications, which in turn rely on “matching funds” in the form of donated labor.

“The majority of our (trail) funding comes from grants, and to get grants we have to have matching in-kind labor,” Leisy said. “We’re funding most of our trail crew this year out of grant money, and without the match, we could not compete for those funds.”

But while money is scarce, a ready cache of volunteerism is not. BCHW volunteers average more than 60,000 hours every year, most of it (nearly 42,000 hours in 2010) on trail-work projects on federal and state lands. Last year, more than 2,500 WTA volunteers contributed more than 104,000 hours on 148 trails throughout the state, most of them on public lands.

“Without the BCHW coming forward and saying ‘Hey, we’ll do that,’ that was the impetus to work with the WTA, because they couldn’t have done this project on their own.”

Neither could the Forest Service, so volunteer groups know they have much to gain by coming to the agency’s aid.

“For us as horsemen to have credibility with the various land managers we work with, we have to put something back in,” Drougas said. “It’s not a quid pro quo, but if you want a seat at the table, you’ve got to be able to offer something, to give something back.”

And the volunteers are getting something in return, said Reiss, the retired construction engineer who designed the bridge.

“I like the woods and the tranquility of it, and I like all those people,” Reiss said. “They basically donate all their resources, their time, their backs and their smiles to all of these projects.

“If you don’t come away from any of these work parties with a renewed energy, then you came for the wrong reason. Because, boy oh boy, do we sweat.”

 • Outdoors editor Scott Sandsberry can be reached at 509-577-7689 or ssandsberry@yakimaherald.com.

Bears walk away with win in the 10th

YAKIMA, Wash. — Jimmy Comerota’s collection of commemorative baseballs is growing, but the Bears first baseman was hoping to share the wealth after his most recent act of heroism.

“Kerry Jenkins should get one, too, after all he did tonight,” Comerota said Monday night after drawing a walkoff walk — on for pitches, no less — that boosted Yakima to an improbable 9-8, 10-inning victory over Boise.

With an announced crowd of 1,911 watching at Yakima County Stadium, the Bears rallied from a four-run eighth-inning deficit to tie, then blew a bases-loaded, no-outs opportunity at victory in the ninth before cashing in an inning later.

Yakima, which has won just three times in 10 extra-inning games, got a leadoff walk from Jenkins to start the bottom of the 10th. It was somewhat fitting that the Yakima left-fielder would do the honors of scoring the winning run since he’d gone 3 for 4 including a two-out, two-run triple in the eighth.

In this frame, Westley Moss reached on an infield single and Carter Bell, after an apparent sacrifice bunt was ruled to have been foul, walked on a 3-2 pitch to fill the sacks.

Against left-hander Andrew McKirahan, the fifth Hawks pitcher, Comerota took four successive pitches, sprinting to first base and then engaging in a celebratory chest bump with his teammates in the middle of the infleld.

Comerota had produced the Bears’ lone walkoff win prior to Monday, delivering a base hit that beat Tri-City 6-5 here on June 26. The baseball from that triumph sits in his locker, as does the ball he hit Sunday for his first professional homer.

His newest trophy, the pitch he took for ball four, might go to Jenkins.

“I was just fortunate to be the guy standing at the plate to watch four pitches,” Comerota said. “Kerry had three hits, got the base on balls to get us started and just had a great night.”

As did Justin Albert, who after Boise had batted the first three Yakima moundsmen for 14 hits, pitched two perfect frames to improve his record to 4-1.

“It was a fun night,” said Jenkins, who batted ninth in the Bears’ lineup. “I was just glad to contribute to a win like this. The triple, I was just trying to shorten up and put the ball in play with two strikes, but ended up getting a good swing on it.”

The Bears (12-15 second half, 25-40 overall), down four starting the bottom of the eighth inning, tied it with a rally that saw the final three runs driven in with two-out hits.

Garrett Weber led off with a single, Justin Hilt drew a one-out walk and Matt Jensen reached when his hot bouncer skipped under first baseman Paul Hoilman’s glove for an error. Weber scored on the play and Hilt took third.

With two outs, Jenkins crushed a ball to the gap right-center, a triple that scored two and gave the Yakima left-fielder his third hit of the night.

Up next was Moss, who greeted new pitcher Bryce Shafer with a score-tying first-pitch single to right-center.

In the ninth, Yakima loaded the bases with no outs, only to come up empty.

Comerota reached on a throwing error, Weber walked and Tyler Bream put down a bunt that Hoilman fell to the seat of his pants while fielding.

But Hilt, on the ninth pitch of his at bat, fanned on a 3-2 offering that was out of the strike zone. Jensen then went down on three pitches and Jae Yun Kim popped out to left.

Yakima led 4-1 after two innings, getting an RBI single from Weber, a run-scoring fielder’s choice grounder and another run on an error in the first, then an infield single by Jenkins and Comerota’s two-out RBI double in the second.

Boise starter Willengton Cruz pitched to just six hitters, getting the hook with one out in the first after issuing his third walk.

The Hawks (12-15, 29-36), who’d scored once in the first off Bears starter Alex Capaul on Rafael Lopez’s two-out run-scoring base hit, batted around and plated five times in the third.

Ryan Cuneo’s fifth homer of the year, a two-run blast well beyond the right-field wall, and Brad Zapenas’ two-out two-run double keyed an inning aided by an error and that also saw a runner cut down at the plate.

Off Drew Zizinia in the sixth, Boise made it 7-4 when Oliver Zapata singled with one out, stole second and third and scored on Zeke DeVoss’ base hit. Yakima escaped further damage when Hoilman, first in the Northwest League in homers with 13 and fifth in RBI with 38, fanned for the 87th time — also tops in the league — to end the frame with runners at second and third.

The Hawks did get another tally in the eighth via Zapata’s leadoff triple and DeVoss’ single through the right side of a drawn-in infield.

08/23/11 Bears update

Next game

Opponent: Boise Hawks.

When, where: 7:05 p.m. today, Yakima County Stadium.

Radio/Internet: KUTI (1460)/yakimabears.com

Probable pitchers: Yakima LHP John Pedrotty (2-3, 2.92) vs. Boise RHP Benjamin Wells (3-4, 5.28).

 

Notes

SPREADING THE GLOVE: Justin Hilt, life-long Philadelphia Phillies fan, proudly displayed bright red Shane Victorino batting gloves on Monday.

How are the gloves visually connected to the Flyin’ Hawaiian? Each glove has outlines of all of the Hawaiian Islands.

 

VOICE FROM THE PAST: Randy Brochu, the Bears radio play-by-play voice in 2007-08, is in town with a couple of friends for Yakima’s series with Boise.

Brochu, from New Britain, Conn., is presently the sports information director at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.

During his tenure with the Bears, the colorful and enthusiastic Brochu embraced Yakima and was known for localizing his play-calling with phrases such as, “Fastball right down Yak Ave.”

During his second year, Brochu’s parents, Norm and Joanne Brochu, visited Yakima and Randy spent several days showing them the area.

 

NEW ARM DEBUTS WEDNESDAY: Blake Perry, a sixth-round draft choice in 2010, has arrived in Yakima and will make his Bears debut Wednesday with a start at Everett.

Perry, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound right-hander, was drafted out of The Pendleton School in Bradenton, Fla. He did not pitch professionally last year, and this season was 1-5 with a 5.00 ERA with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Rookie League team. In 12 games and 11 starts, the 19-year-old worked 63 innings, striking out 39 and walking 19.

 

BANGED UP INFIELDER: Danny Pulfer sustained a rib injury while diving back into third base during the Bears recent series at Tri-City. The second baseman served as Yakima’s designated hitter Sunday, but was still sore and sat out Monday’s game.

Pulfer said he’d probably miss tonight’s series finale with Boise and then hopefully return to action Wednesday at Everett.

 

FAULTY MATH: Monday’s Bears game story stated that Jimmy Comerota hit his first professional home run in his 59th professional game. The game was Comerota’s 109th as a professional.

— Roger Underwood

 

Box score

 Bears 9, Hawks 8

Boise Yakima

ab r h bi ab r h bi

DeVoss cf 6 1 4 2 Moss cf 4 1 2 1

Chen lf 3 0 0 0 Bell dh 5 1 2 0

Cuneo dh 4 2 2 2 Cmrota 1b 4 1 1 2

Hoilmn 1b 4 0 0 0 Wbr ss-3b 4 1 2 1

Lopez c 4 1 2 1 Bream 3b 5 0 1 1

Hrrngtn 3b 5 1 0 0 Pulfer pr 0 0 0 0

Darvill ss 5 1 2 1 Navarro ss 0 0 0 0

Zapens 2b 5 0 2 2 Hilt rf 3 1 0 0

Zapata rf 5 2 2 0 Jensen 2b 5 1 0 0

Kim c 5 0 0 0

Jenkins lf 4 3 3 2

Totals 41 8 14 8 Totals 39 9 11 7

Boise 105 001 010 0 — 1

Yakima 310 000 040 1 — 4

E—Zapenas, Hoilman, Darvill, Bream, Jensen. DP—Boise 0, Yakima 3. LOB—Boise 8, Yakima 12. 2B—DeVoss, Lopez, Zapenas, Comerota, Bell. 3B—Zapata, Jenkins. HR—Cuneo. SB—Darvill, Zapata 2, Chen, DeVoss, Jenkins. CS—DeVoss. Sac—Moss.

IP H R ER BB SO

Boise

Cruz 1-3 2 3 3 3 0

Sandoval 5 2-3 3 1 1 0 7

Fitzgerald 1 2-3 3 4 0 1 4

Shafer BS,3 1 1-3 2 0 0 1 3

McKirahan L,0-1 0 1 1 1 3 0

Yakima

Capaul 4 8 6 3 2 1

Zizinia 2 2 1 1 2 3

Paredes 2 4 1 1 1 0

Albert W,4-1 2 0 0 0 0 1

McKirahan pitched to 4 batters in the 10th.

Balk—Sandoval. Umpires—Home, JJ January; First, Derek Eaton. T—3:34. A—1,911.

 

Standings

 Second Half

East Division

W L Pct. GB

x-Tri-City (Rockies) 16 11 .593 —

Boise (Cubs) 12 15 .444 4

Spokane (Rangers) 12 15 .444 4

Yakima (D’backs) 12 15 .444 4

West Division

W L Pct. GB

Everett (Mariners) 18 9 .667 —

x-Eugene (Padres) 14 13 .519 4

Salem-Keizer (Giants) 14 13 .519 4

Vancouver (Blue Jays) 10 17 .370 8

x-won first half

Monday’s results

Salem-Keizer 14, Vancouver 5

Everett 7, Eugene 0

Yakima 9, Boise 8 (10) innings

Spokane 8, Tri-City 1

Today’s games

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

Boise at Yakima, 7:05 p.m.

Eugene at Everett, 7:05 p.m.

Spokane at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m.

Phillips: Smallmouth are a big catch in SW Oregon’s Umpqua River

YAKIMA, Wash. — Because of their constant hunt for something to eat, smallmouth bass may be one of the easier fish to catch in the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Found in the Columbia, the Snake, and the Yakima Rivers and many impoundments in Eastern Washington, the feisty, bronze-colored fish are a blast to catch.

Not only do smallmouth have a voracious appetite, they also possess the tenacity of a pit bull. Pound for pound, there may be no harder fighting fish in the waters of the Northwest.

And, while smallies can be found many places throughout the region, one of the best rivers for smallmouth fishing is the Umpqua in south-western Oregon.

Unlike most of the rivers in Eastern Washington, the Umpqua flows fairly slowly over and through smooth, round boulders, many the size of Volkswagens. Underneath the placid waters also sit ledges and drop-offs, and every single one of them seems to hold scores of smallmouth bass.

“Studies show that there are 4,000 smallmouth bass per mile on the Umpqua,” said guide Todd Harrington. We were drifting a short stretch of the river in his driftboat just upstream of the town of Elkton.

About that time another bass was sucking up the dark green Sinko worm that I had dropped to the bottom of one of the deeper holes. With a quick hook set I was fighting yet another Umpqua smallie.

“This time of year most of our anglers will catch a hundred bass a day,” Harrington, who guides on the Umpqua for the Big K Ranch, explained. “But the secret is getting your bait right down on the bottom in the deepest holes.”

Other times of the year, he explained, the fish will move into the shallows and can be caught with spinners, spinnerbaits and topwater lures.

“June is the best time for top-water,” Harrington said of the technique in which anglers throw floating baits out and work them on the surface of the river. “It can be some fast action and lots of fun when those fish come up and hit your lure.”

The smallmouth bass in the Umpqua come in all sizes, from 6 inches up to 21 inches in length. And there seemed to be plenty of fish in the 12- to 16-inch range, as my friend Mike Nelson and I would discover in about four hours of fishing on the picturesque stream.

Nelson and I were on our way to the century mark of fish caught and released and would have probably made it except for the fact that I needed to get off the river mid-afternoon.

The Umpqua is one of the main coastal rivers in Oregon and flows northwest through the beautiful Oregon Coast Range before dumping into Pacific Ocean at Reedsport. The prolific river offers some great fishing for spring chinook salmon, fall chinook, coho, steelhead and shad during different times of the year. But it may be most famous for the smallmouth bass fishing that can be had virtually year-round.

“We catch the biggest bass of the year in February and March during pre-spawn,” Harrington said. “Our biggest fish so far this year was a 6.2-pounder caught in pre-spawn.”

Nelson and I didn’t catch any quite that big, but we did catch a half-dozen 18-inchers that went maybe four pounds each. All smallmouth are feisty, even the little guys, but when you get one that is three or four pounds, they can really give you a tussle, especially on light spinning tackle.

I did catch several bass on my favorite Vibric Rooster Tail spinner, but the majority of our fish came on Sinkos and other plastics hooked on weighted jigs.

“Spinners work better during other times of the year,” Harrington explained as he watched me chuck my Rooster Tail into the shoreline.

I got the impression he wanted me to switch back to a plastic worm, which I did a short time later, and caught bass after bass after bass.

The folks around Elkton and southern Oregon claim that they have the very best smallmouth fishing river in the Northwest right in their backyard. And from what I experienced last week on the Umpqua, I’m not going to argue with them.

• 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.

08/23/11 What’s Happening

Speaker to focus on forest communities

The amazing diversity of plants and animals in the ponderosa pine forests of the American West will be at the heart of the Yakima Valley Audubon Society’s program this Saturday, 7 p.m. at the Yakima Area Arboretum.

Speaker for this free event will be birding book author and noted local naturalist Andy Stepniewski, who will introduce the audience to this dry-forest ecosystem and its various plant communities.

Stepniewski will also focus on the birds associated with ponderosa pine forests, especially declining species such as the white-headed woodpecker and flammulated owl that are dependent on mature trees.

 

Commission to hear wolf input Monday

The state’s wolf-management process will be back in focus next Monday in Ellensburg, when the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will hear staff input and take public comment on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s proposed wolf management plan.

Monday’s meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ellensburg Quality Inn (1700 Canyon Road).

The plan came out of three years of discussion and work by a 17-member citizen working group, which settled on the state being able to verify a minimum of 15 breeding pairs over three consecutive years before wolves would be considered for delisting from state-protected status.

The commission will hear more public comment at Oct. 6 and Nov. 3 meetings in Olympia, and is expected to approve the final plan in December.

 

BIRD ALERT

A trip to Bear Creek Mountain in search of the elusive white-tailed ptarmigan came up short of the target bird with only a white feather, presumed to be that of a ptarmigan, being found.

There were plenty of juvenile birds in the forest as well as lots of wildflowers and butterflies. Birds noted included common raven, chestnut-backed chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, golden-crowned kinglet, yellow-rumped warbler, Nashville warbler, Townsend’s warbler, chipping sparrow and dark-eyed junco.

Shorebirds are still being observed at some of the shopping hotspots around Yakima with western sandpipers and least sandpipers at both the Costco and 64th Avenue ponds. Other birds of note at the WalMart pond included American kestrel, killdeer, solitary sandpiper, American crow and Brewer’s blackbird.

An immature male Anna’s hummingbird, an immature Calliope hummingbird, rufous hummingbirds and black-chinned hummingbirds all visited a Yakima resident’s feeders this week. It’s always a good week when you have four species of hummingbirds at your feeders.

A local birder stopped his car to play the song of a lark sparrow on his smart phone, only to be surprised by three sparrows perching within seconds on his car — including one sitting inches from his face on the rolled-down window edge. All of them were hatch-year birds that may have thought the song meant Dad had arrived to feed them.

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

— Kerry L. Turley

 

ON THE CALENDAR

THIS MORNING: Your mission, should you choose to accept a day with the Cascadians’ energetic Tuesdays, will be the Goat Lake loop, a 13-miler with 1,900 feet of elevation gain. Bring lunch, lots of water and energy, and be at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot by 7:30 a.m.

THIS MORNING: Mount Adams Cycling hosts an easy ride on the Greenway for beginners or newcomers, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot. For more on club activities, go to www.mountadamscycling.org.

TONIGHT: Mount Adams Cycling’s regular Tuesday ride, typically 24 to 30 miles, will leave YAC Fitness in Terrace Heights at 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: The weekly 21-mile Naches Loop ride hosted by Mount Adams Cycling will take off from SunTides Golf Course at 6 p.m.

THURSDAY: The Cascadian Pokies, in a change from the club’s newsletter, are giving up Naches Peak this year because of snow conditions at Chinook Pass. Instead, they’ll be going to Sourdough Ridge at Sunrise. The meeting time has also been changed to 8 a.m. For meeting place or other info, call Jeanne Crawford at 966-8608.

THURSDAY: Chinook Cycling hosts a weekly mountain bike ride of Cowiche Canyon, focusing on the uplands, beginning at 6 p.m. from the Scenic Drive entrance into the canyon. For more on Yakima-area mountain biking opportunities, call Jeff at Revolution Cycles at 509-452-0063.

THURSDAY: A beginner-level ride on the Greenway, hosted by Mount Adams Cycling, will take off at 6 p.m. from the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot.

SATURDAY: The Cascadians will host a hike along the “Kendall Catwalk” of the Pacific Crest Trail, for those not of the faint of heart. The group will meet at 7:30 a.m. at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart lot; non-Cascadians are welcome, but are asked to call trip leaders Mike and Sue Gunderson at 972-2615 in advance.

SATURDAY: The Yakima Valley Boat Club will hold its annual “Land Cruise” Saturday, with members, guests and prospective members welcome. YVBC Members and guests are invited to join in. Prospective members are always welcome as guests of the Club. For information, contact YVBC membership chairman J.B. Hanna at 509-713-3213 or hannajb@charter.net.

MONDAY: Chinook Cycling’s weekly “Mellow Monday” ride, a 15-miler in which the pace will indeed be mellow, gets rolling at 6 p.m. from Wide Hollow Elementary. For more on Chinook Cycling events, visit www.chinookcycling.com.

Bears get a feel-good victory

YAKIMA, Wash. — Levity was prevalent if not dominant in the Bears clubhouse Sunday night, with players lining up to offer well-rehearsed and highly-comical responses to hypothetical questions.

And there was music — in the manager’s office, even — loud enough that Audo Vicente had to lower the volume in order to hear a reporter’s queries.

Not what you’d necessarily expect from a team that for all practical purposes had seen its playoff hopes end in its three previous games, but entirely understandable after a solid 4-1 defeat of Boise.

“Dude,” Justin Hilt said to a smiling Adam Kudryk. “There’s no Cy Young (award) in the Northwest League.”

Maybe not. But if there were, Yakima’s 6-foot-6 left-hander would seem to at least merit mention based on his most recent outings.

The latest, before an announced 1,393 at sweltering Yakima County Stadium, saw Kudryk allow only six hits and one run over seven innings, lowering his ERA to 3.42 and improving his record to 3-4.

And what about Jimmy Comerota, who with one swing of the bat produced two thirds of Yakima’s three-game run total during its fateful series at Tri-City, clubbing a two-run, first-inning homer?

“I was smiling when he was rounding the bases,” said the Bears’ next hitter, Garrett Weber, who would follow with a double and finish 3 for 3. “And I managed to get a grin from him when he got to home plate.”

Said Comerota, whose long ball was his first in 59 professional games, “Long time coming. But they got the ball for me, which I’m very grateful for, and it’s right up there in my locker next to my walkoff single ball (from earlier this year). My dad will be very happy to have them after the season’s over.”

It isn’t yet, of course, with 12 games remaining counting tonight’s rematch with the Hawks.

And if the Bears (11-15 second half, 24-40 overall) had been shut down in their three-game set at Pasco, totaling only three runs in 27 innings, they were up to the task Sunday against a Boise team (13-13, 30-34) that’s in the thick of the East Division wild-card race with Spokane.

Comerota’s homer, a drive that cleared the Double R Ranch sign in left-center, followed an error that allowed Danny Pulfer to reach base. Yakima made it 3-0 in the third when Comerota walked, took second on a wild pitch, reached third on Weber’s base hit through the left side and scored on Henry Zabala’s groundout.

The Bears’ final tally came in the fourth via Tyler Bream’s leadoff double, after which Bream took third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Westley Moss, who had two hits.

Kudryk, meanwhile, allowed no more than one hit in any single inning and kept Boise off the board until the sixth, when a one-out walk, wild pitch and two-out single by Ryan Cuneo made it 4-1.

“We talk so much about starting pitching,” said Vicente, “and Kudryk, again, was outstanding. Then our pen came in (one hitless inning each for Victor Acosta and Justin Albert) and was lights out, too.”

Said Comerota, “The last series was tough on us. We went down there with a chance to make a move in our division and we didn’t do it. We struggled, and that’s hard.

“But this is still a good group of guys who are fun to be around and who like to play baseball, so all is not lost. We just move on from here.”

8/22/11 Yakima Bears update

Next game

Opponent: Boise Hawks.

When, where: 7:05 p.m. today, Yakima County Stadium.

Radio/Internet: KUTI (1460)/yakimabears.com

Probable pitcher: Yakima RHP Alex Capaul (2-2, 3.21) vs. Boise LHP Willington Cruz (1-2, 3.40).

Notes

BEARS NOT A HIT IN PASCO: Despite Wednesday night’s loss to Spokane, the Bears headed to Tri-City with high hopes for their three-game series with the second-half, division-leading Dust Devils. They had, after all, won six games during their eight-game homestand and were within three games of first place.

Sunday, after three losses in which Yakima scored only four runs on 15 hits and was 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position, it was time to regroup and reassess.

“The first guy (Chris Jensen) was definitely tough,” said Yakima outfielder Justin Hilt. “We came out swinging and tried to be aggressive, but only two of our guys got to three-ball counts. Then we got shut out (2-0) by the second guy (Christian Bergman, his second of the year and only the third in the Northwest League).

“Not only are their starters good, their bullpen is good and really deep. They just keep running guys out there.”

So with 13 games left and the playoffs highly unlikely — Yakima began Sunday six games behind Tri-City — there is still much to do and play for.

“The goal, whether you’re first-year player, second-year player, third-year player or whatever,” Hilt said, “is to improve. You learn now, next year you have a better idea of how things work.”

QUALITY STARTS VS. VICTORIES: Yakima starters this season have produced 24 quality starts, the definition of which is a minimum of six innings during which the pitcher allows three or fewer earned runs.

Beginning play Sunday, however, the Bears had won only 11 of those games.

INSULT TO INSULT: Not only did the aforementioned losses at Tri-City deal a likely fatal blow to the Bears postseason aspirations, they assured Yakima yet another losing season.

With 40 defeats starting play Sunday, Yakima will finish with its eighth losing season in the past 10 years — all as an Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate.

In 2003 the Bears went 45-31 but didn’t make the playoffs. Last year, with the NWL season divided in half, Yakima won the second half East Division title to earn the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2000.

Counting this season’s 23-40 record beginning play Sunday, however, the Bears are 316-428 over the past 10 seasons, a .403 percentage.

Click here for box score

Click here for standings

8/21/11 Grid Kids jamboree photo gallery

Photos from Saturday’s Grid Kids youth football jamboree at Marquette Stadium in Yakima, Wash.

Click here for information on purchasing any of these photos.

Bears lead early, lose big to Devils

PASCO, Wash. — Saturday evening started out just fine, with the Yakima Bears ending their scoreless innings streak and building an early lead against Tri-City.

But just as things were looking up, Yakima’s bats reverted to their old ways, and the Dust Devils roared past the Bears, capping a three-game sweep with a 7-2 victory Saturday at Gesa Stadium.

By dropping its eighth straight game to Tri-City, Yakima (10-15 in the second half) fell six games behind the Dust Devils in the standings with just 13 games remaining — none against Tri-City.

Yakima started quickly, getting an unearned run in the first on a two-out throwing error by the Dust Devils, and adding another in the third on Garrett Weber’s single up the middle to score Westley Moss, who had started the inning with a double.

But the Bears ran themselves out a bigger inning when Weber was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Carter Bell’s single.

After that, Yakima collected just three more hits — all singles.

Tri-City, meanwhile, was just getting started.

Single runs in the third and fifth tied the score, and the Dust Devils took control with five runs in the sixth and seventh innings combined.

An error allowed Tri-City to score the go-ahead run in the sixth. With Tyler Massey at second, Ryan Casteel grounded to short and Raul Navarro tried to cut down Massey at third, but Carter Bell couldn’t handle the throw, allowing Massey to score and Casteel to take second. Casteel later scored on Jason Shepherd’s single for a 4-2 lead.

Casteel’s two-run double highlighted a three-run seventh, with a wild pitch plating the other run.

Yakima is back home tonight to open a three-game set with the Boise Hawks.

8/21/11 Yakima Bears update

Next game

Opponent: Boise Hawks.

When, where: 5:30 p.m. today, Yakima County Stadium.

Radio/Internet: KUTI (1460)/yakimabears.com

Probable pitchers: Yakima LHP Adam Kudryk (2-4, 3.63 ERA) vs. Boise RHP Austin Reed (1-5, 6.57).

Click here for box score

Click here for standings

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