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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Legion Ball Tournament Starts Today

Central Valley High School is the site of the AA portion of this year’s American Legion Fourth of July Baseball Tournament, beginning today.

A total of 24 teams, 12 each in the AAA and AA divisions, begin play at 8 a.m. Each team plays five games in a two-division round-robin format.

Seven Spokane League AA teams will be joined by three Bellevue teams, one from Yakima and one from Enumclaw, Wash.

One division includes Valley teams Olympic Sports and Spokane Athletic Supply, the Deer Park Eagles, Bellevue Blue Sox, Bellevue Legion and Yakima.

The other division includes Valley team Strike Zone plus Spokane Federal Credit Union, B&C Telephone and Granny’s Buffet from Spokane, along with Bellevue Honda and Enumclaw.

Division winners will play for the championship at 2 p.m. Sunday at Shadle Park High School’s Al K. Jackson Field.

The AAA tournament will be played at Jackson Field, Gonzaga University, Whitworth College and SeaFirst Stadium.

One AAA division includes the Spokane Royals, Valley Cannons, Blue Devils, Northco Angels from Vancouver, Wash., Billings (Mont.) Royals and Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen.

The other includes the Browne Mountain Bandits and North Stars from Spokane, Great Falls (Mont.) Stallions, Vancouver (Wash.) Royals, Prairie Cardinals from Post Falls and a team from El Segundo, Calif.

The Legion will host fund-raising breakfasts Friday at 8:30 a.m. at both Central Valley and Shadle Park.

Walter Carlisle, move over!

The only outfielder in professional baseball to make an unassisted triple play has nothing on Spokane Valley Baseball League Tee-ball player Chrystol Holt.

Playing in the outfield in a game for 5- and 6-year-olds, Holt last week duplicated the feat.

Runners were on first and second, said her coach, Rick Kline. “You know how in tee-ball everyone starts running when the ball is hit.”

Holt caught the ball, raced to second to force out one runner and tagged the runner coming to the base.

“Both sidelines were hysterical,” said Kline. “Just to have an outfielder catch a ball at this age is amazing.”

Autocraft wins makeup showdown

Two of three teams vying for the Spokane Valley Baseball Giant League championship met in a makeup game last week.

Autocraft from West Valley won 5-3 over Broadway Eye Care to move past its opponent and close in on leader Valley Electric.

Valley Electric last week won 4-1 over Valley Firefighters. One game separates the three teams.

Jay Pearson and Matt Spencer each had two hits and two RBIs.

Broadway Eye Care had defeated Greenacres Gypsum 10-4, breaking a tie with six runs in the sixth inning. Brett Neste had eight strikeouts and Jade Webley went 2-for-2.

Chester team clings to Midget lead

Tom’s Barber Shop clings to its tenuous Midget League lead with four regular season games remaining and several more unreported or yet to be made up.

The team leads Valley Kiwanis, which handed Dave’s Grill its second loss of the season, 4-1. Chad Bucher hit a double and triple in the win.

The Kiwanians also blanked another challenger, EllingsonPaxton 6-0 and Neurosurgery Assoc. 19-0 in a makeup game.

Jason Nelson drove in three runs with a homer, and Kenny Zachow two more with a pair of hits in the first shutout win. Brian Danelo had three hits and three others drove in three runs in the second victory.

Moving up to third place was Spokane Indians, which won a pair, including 11-3 over contender Illustrated Air.

Bobby Williams hit a two-run homer and two-run double in the game. He also had three hits in an earlier game. Ryan Trescott hit a two-run homer. Catcher Blake Trimmer went 4-for-6 for the week and against Illustrated Air caught a pair of pop-ups in the second inning, turning the latter into a double play.

Another contender, Happy Hatter, won twice with pitcher Brooks Allen striking out 14 batters in six innings. Justin Knight went 3-for4 and three other batters had two hits in victory over Metro Signs.

Pitcher Donnie Marcille so far this year has fanned 46 batters in 23 innings for McDonald’s and allowed but five runs.

A teammate, Michael Jacobsen was injured in a bicycle accident and is gone for the season.

The injury came after his two outfield catches helped the team past Happy Hatter 5-2.

Matthew Johnston went 3-for-3 and struck out eight while pitching, despite Neurosurgery Assoc.’s onerun loss to Ashco Insurance.

Pee Wees head into home stretch

Monday’s rain-outs halted the Pee Wee League’s headlong rush to conclusion.

Next week is the end of the regular season schedule. CXT and Medicine Shoppe are still unbeaten and four other teams with a single loss.

Medicine Shoppe won twice by a single run including 12-11 over previously unbeaten Dave’s Grill.

A quartet of pitchers combined for 28 strikeouts in the two victories. Josh Morse hit a two-run double and game-winning sacrifice fly during a 5-4 victory over Henderson Roofing.

Pitchers Nick Burger with four hits, and Grant Bruscoe with five provided offense during the two wins, and Matt Hanna hit a key two-run homer against Dave’s Grill.

Moving into third place, one-half game out of the lead, was Bert Shields Auto Supply.

Last week the team handed Homestead Construction its first loss, 7-2, with pitchers Luke Raynor and Bret Riggin combining on a 17-strikeout two-hitter.

In its last four wins Bert Shields has allowed just five runs. Jay Dee Edlund has joined in the pitching, which produced 54 strikeouts. He also had six hits.

Pavillion Park improved to 8-2 with three wins, outscoring its opponents 51-1.

Stuart Harris had five runs batted in with a home run and triple in one victory. Matthew Rodriguez and Braden Jensen combined to strikeout 15 in a no-hit, no-run win.

, DataTimes