Bandits still in hunt for state baseball title

Jacob Olsufka and Mother Nature came to the rescue for the Spokane Bandits on Saturday.

Spokane fell behind early, waited out a 1-hour rain delay and then rode Olsufka to a 17-14 victory over the Yakima Valley Pepsi-Pak in a State AAA American Legion tournament loser-out game at Selah, Wash.

Yakima Valley led 5-0 when Olsufka took the mound in the second inning. He allowed just one run over the next four innings, while the Bandits exploded for 14 runs. Olsufka’s two-run double sparked a six-run fifth inning when the Bandits blew the game open. Garric Little followed Olsufka’s hit with a two-run single and Spokane never looked back.

Spokane led 17-8 before Yakima Valley scored five in the eighth and one in the ninth.

“The kids have really built up some confidence battling through these games,” Bandits coach Bobby Carlson said.

Kelso will play for the title at 6 p.m. Spokane will play Twin City at 3 for a shot at Kelso.

• Burlington made the most of six errors to eliminate University 7-4 in a State AA tournament semifinal at Anacortes.