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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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GSL baseball: Mt. Spokane tops U-Hi

Click the tab below to read our Greater Spokane League baseball roundup, featuring the Mt. Spokane/Univeristy game.

By Greg Lee

gregl@spokesman.com; (509) 927-2180

Alex Schuerman knew he had the makings of a good baseball team.

He knew his 3A Mt. Spokane Wildcats could challenge for the Greater Spokane League championship, too. So it doesn’t surprise him that his team is sitting atop the conference with a two-game lead in the loss column with five remaining.

Junior left-handed pitcher Carson Blumenthal threw a four-hitter and received plenty of run support as the visiting Wildcats knocked off the University Titans 8-0 Thursday.

U-Hi coach Scott Sutherland, whose team has won the last two league titles, isn’t surprised either.

“They’re the class of the league right now,” Sutherland said. “They came out and proved it today. They’re solid. They play good defense, they have good pitching and they hit Jon (Rapose, the Titans’ pitcher) hard and they put the ball in play.”

Schuerman called it a quality victory.

“It’s a good win,” he said. “You measure yourself against the Titans. They’re a good club every year. We took advantage of some opportunities early. You always feel good about a win against U-Hi because they’re well coached and they play hard and they play the game right.”

Blumenthal (5-0) helped himself in the first inning with an RBI double. Then the Wildcats added three more runs in the second on a two-run double by Spencer Mallonee and a run-scoring single from Evan Renner.

The Titans (8-5) couldn’t take advantage of an early opportunity. Blumenthal gave up back-to-back walks to start the game, but the runners were stranded.

“He kept us off balanced,” Sutherland said. “We had some chances early and had some other guys on second base but we just didn’t answer the call when they got guys on base. (Blumenthal) just got tougher as the game went along. A couple of times there I thought we were going to get going. I was very impressed with him.”

Blumenthal got back-to-back strikeouts to end the game, finishing with eight.

“I could have done better,” Blumenthal said. “I got a little down at the beginning of some innings, but I battled through it.”

He impressed his coach.

Carson just really threw great,” Schuerman said. “He threw lights out. He shut them down every time they had a chance. It was a real gutty performance.”

The Wildcats shut the door with four more runs in the seventh. Blumenthal had a two-run single.

“I knew we had a good club and I knew we could be here,” Schuerman said. “We want to be playing our best ball heading into May. Obviously we control our own destiny. I like our chances.”

U-Hi visits Mt. Spokane today, and the Wildcats have their byes next Tuesday and Thursday before concluding with a pair against Lewis and Clark and Central Valley.

“Obviously you believe in your guys and you expect them to play well,” Schuerman said. “In some ways I’m disappointed that (we’re not undefeated), just because that’s your mentality as a coach with your guys. This is a group of guys that loves playing together. They expect to win when they show up. That’s their mentality. Anytime you’re 14-1 you’re thankful and you’ve obviously had some good breaks and you’ve played some good ball.”

Sutherland expects his team to bounce back.

“We’ll just flush this and come back (today),” he said.

Mead 5, North Central 4: Kramer Kembel hit a homer and Zach Crane (3-0) picked up the win as the Panthers (11-3) held off the visiting Indians (2-11).

Chad Lunt led Mead with two hits and Gavan O’Reilly and Seth Wolfe each had two for NC.

Shadle Park 11, East Valley 6: Nick Bettinson had 12 strikeouts, scattering seven hits over seven innings, as the Highlanders (5-10) topped the visiting Knights (3-10).

Tyler Pfeffer had three doubles and four RBIs and Parker Scott was 2 for 3 with two RBIs for Shadle.

Gonzaga Prep 6, Lewis and Clark 3: David Machtolf got his second win after an 0-4 start as the Bullpups (3-10) topped the visiting Tigers (8-5).

The Bullpups scored five runs in the third. Machtolf and Matt Miller had back-to-back doubles in the inning. Miller went 2 for 4 with two runs. David McNeil had a homer for LC.

Ferris 12, Rogers 0: The Saxons (9-6) scored eight runs in the fourth for a run-rule shortened win over the visiting Pirates (2-11).

Austin Weber (3-1) threw a two-hitter. Ryan Krustangel had a three-homer in the fourth.



Greg Lee
Greg Lee joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a prep reporter covering Eastern Washington and North Idaho schools.

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