Kimmel starts state tourney play Saturday

Spokane Valley American Legion baseball teams have had good seasons before, but none quite like Kimmel Athletic.

The University-based team was 28-0 against AA competition, perhaps unprecedented as it swept through league, division and district competition to qualify for this weekend’s state tournament in Pullman.

The squad opens play in the 16-team double-elimination tournament Saturday at 1 p.m. at Washington State University’s Bailey-Brayton Field against the Kennewick Junior Bandits.

The tourney continues through next Thursday.

Still, said coach Scott Sutherland, it was the team’s five losses to hand-picked traveling teams in the Connie Mack Best of the West Wood Bat Tournament in late June that defined this year’s squad.

“I feel it was the turning point for us,” he said. “It showed us what was expected at the next level of baseball, and our kids responded really well.”

An 8-5 loss to the Seattle Seadogs came to a team with seven college freshmen and 11 graduated seniors, he said.

Two other losses were by 6-2 and 6-3 scores.

“Even though we were outmatched, we competed well,” said Sutherland. “We don’t see many pitchers who throw 85-plus, so it was a great experience for our players.”

Particularly considering that nine of Kimmel’s players will either be juniors or sophomores at U-Hi in the fall.

Among them, first baseman-pitcher Tyler Olson led the team with a .541 batting average, scored 35 runs and drove in 41. He hit three home runs and was 7-1 with a 2.76 earned run average pitching.

Centerfielder Travis Clark hit .484. Pitching ace and outfielder Billy Moon, who will be a sophomore, was 9-1 with a 2.05 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 51 innings. He hit .424.

Another sophomore, Jacob Olsufka batted .415, scoring 40 runs and driving in 30. The shortstop also was involved in 11 double plays.

Eight other players hit over .300, including junior Brandon Shryock, with .391, 30 runs, 26 RBIs, and senior Ben Borgman, who hit .387.

During district play Kimmel Athletic beat North Central 5-1 behind Moon, and 9-8 to reach the title game. The team rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the sixth inning to tie Mt. Spokane 4-4 and won it on Borgman’s second hit, a bases-loaded, no-out drive.

Aaron LaPlante, Kyle Barker, Jake Baldwin and Chris Sothen were all on U-Hi’s varsity last spring. Others on Kimmel are Michael Holmes, Cameron Cook, Jacob Schnibbe, Curt Smith, Craig Keeton and Spencer Olsufka who all contributed this summer.

Cannons just miss

The Spokane Valley Cannons finished a win away from a State AAA American Legion trip for the second straight year.

They were beaten 11-6 in their third game against the repeat champion North Stars in the game to determine this year’s berth to the tournament, which begins Saturday in Longview.

The Cannons, with six West Valley, five Central Valley and three East Valley athletes, had lost 6-2 to the North Stars in the second game of the playoffs.

But they beat the Pullman Patriots 8-1 and evened the double elimination tournament with a 13-1 win over the North Stars that forced the second game for the title. WV’s Justin Marlow pitched his second strong playoff win, scattering five hits in seven innings to bring the Cannons to the cusp of state.

But the North Stars chased Eagle Greg Bradley, scoring four times in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth to build an 8-1 second-game lead that held up.

CV’s Ryan Maynes hit safely in all five of the Cannons’ playoff games. He had a total of nine hits, including five in two wins over Pullman. He also had two hits in their season finale, including a home run.

Marlow and WV’s Matt Peterson also had two hits apiece as the Cannons scored six runs in the fifth to eliminate the Patriots.

Bryan Peterson, also WV, had three hits in the opening win of the championship games against the North Stars and Bradley had two hits in each contest.

Villains to nationals

The Spokane Villains, a team made up primarily of Central Valley and University softball players, has qualified for the Westeran ASA National Championships in McAllen, Texas.

Team members are Alene Bethel, Alyssa Erickson, Crystal Holt, Nicole Hardin, Ali Warren, Michelle Wells, Alexa Morales, Riki Schiermeister, Alexis Obenchain, Shelby Bethel, Traci Trotter and Hailey Saxby.

They are coached by Octavio Morales and Bob Erickson.

The Villains finished third in the 16U division of the combined 18U-16U Spokane Girls Fastpitch Softball Association.

They competed in four tournaments, winning in Yakima and Walla Walla and finishing third in Kalispell.

They qualified for nationals by placing second in the Northwest Regional ASA Fastpitch Tournament in Boise.