Ferris sweeps Mt. Spokane to win GSL baseball crown

Ferris didn’t leave any doubt Friday which team was the best in Greater Spokane League baseball this spring.

The Saxons captured their first GSL title since 2006, and Ferris made it a clean sweep in the three major sports this school year. The baseball championship goes along with league titles in football and boys basketball. The Saxons added the boys soccer title as well on Friday.

Ferris (16-2) knocked out Mt. Spokane 18-2 in the resumption of a game suspended Thursday and the Saxons followed with a 4-0 shutout over the visiting Wildcats (11-7).

University (14-4), meanwhile, secured the top seed to the District 8 3A tournament, which begins Monday. The Titans are automatically bound for regionals and will await the survivor of two loser-out games to see which team they face in a best-of-3 series to decide the district title and seeding to regionals.

Ferris is regional-bound, too, and the Saxons go directly to the District 8 4A title game Friday.

The Brothers Bozett were in the middle of the Saxons’ hitting barrage in the first game. They combined for four hits and six RBIs.

“We had the goal from Day 1 to be here and it’s finally nice to be here,” senior and older brother Beau, a shortstop, said of the league title-clinching win in the opener Friday. “It’s been a fun year and it’s a great team. It’s so great to be able to celebrate with my brother, Blake.”

Blake, a junior second baseman, agreed.

“It’s really special playing with my brother up the middle,” Blake said. “I’ve played with my brother for years. It’s great that all the hard work has paid off.”

The Saxons ripped the game open in the sixth with 10 runs on six hits. Catcher Ryan Krustangel led things off with a solo homer as 16 Saxons went to the plate.

“This is just a great tribute to the kids,” Ferris coach Jim Sharkey said. “We swung the bats well and then we broke it open late (in the first game).”

In the second game, Beau Bozett had a solo homer to give Ferris a 1-0 lead. Then senior pitcher Spencer Ansett, who struck out 12 and limited the Wildcats to three hits, had a run-scoring double in the sixth for the Saxons’ final run.

He kept the game ball afterward, and it wasn’t because he improved to 7-0.

“It’s the first hit I’ve ever gotten in my high school career,” Ansett said.

Before the 4A district can begin Monday, Lewis and Clark and Rogers, both 4-14, meet today in a tiebreaking playoff to determine the fifth and final seed. The game is at 1 at Ferris.

That winner advances to play Gonzaga Prep (12-6) at 4 p.m. Monday at Avista Stadium. In the other district opener, also Monday at Avista, Central Valley (7-11) plays Mead (10-8) at 7.

In a 3A district opener Monday, North Central (2-16) visits Shadle Park (10-8) in a loser-out game at 4. That winner faces Mt. Spokane in a loser-out game Tuesday at Avista at 4. That winner turns around and plays the first game in the best-of-3 series against U-Hi at 7.