Youth sports notebook: Spokane Expos 19U wins Wood Bat Classic title

Strong and deep pitching was the key as Spokane Expos 19U went 9-0 and won the annual Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Wood Bat Classic baseball tournament that wound up a four-day run Monday.

Taylor Johnson (Richland) was the starter and winning pitcher as Expos defeated the defending champion Kennewick Outlaws 5-3 in the Senior Division championship game on Al K Jackson Field at Shadle Park after Josh Tucker and Stu Flesland pitched no-hitters getting the Expos to the title game.

Tucker, a North Central graduate, turned in his gem in an 8-0 semifinal win over the Spokane Crew on Monday. Mt. Spokane graduate Flesland pitched his in a 5-0 pool-play win, dealing the Idaho Cubs their only loss and keeping them out of the semifinals.

Kennewick had defeated Bellingham Post 7 3-2 in its semifinal.

• A walk-off wild pitch was the deciding factor as Yakima Peppers won the Junior Division of the Wood Bat Classic with an 8-7, nine-inning victory over Spokane Expos Blue at Thorco Field-Ramsay Park in Coeur d’Alene.

In a game that saw Expos Blue overcome an early 5-0 deficit and lose a couple of one-run leads, Peppers took the game to extra innings with a run in the bottom of the seventh.

In the ninth, the Peppers’ first batter was hit by a pitch and sacrificed to second by winning pitcher Ryker Fortier. The first pitch to the next batter was wild and went out of play, allowing the winning run to score.

Fortier pitched the final four innings, giving up just one hit and one run to gain the decision.

• With the windup of league play Tuesday, all three divisions in the Spokane American Legion League – AAA, AA and Single A – will launch district play Thursday to decide berths to state.

All six teams in the AAA division will be involved in district. The top eight teams in both the AA and Single A American divisions and the top three in the AA and Single A National divisions will vie for state berths.

Softball

Josie Schultheis (Colton) pitched a four-hitter and Helina Hahn (Colfax) went 3-for-4 with three RBIs as Colfax Crossfire defeated the Cashmere Bulldogs 12-0 in the championship game of the 16U-18U High School Division’s Fireworks Bracket at the 30th annual 4th of July Umpires Memorial Shootout on Sunday at Merkel Complex in Spokane.

Hannah Ockleston’s grand slam in the fourth inning was the key blow as Menace Fastpitch of Richland beat Spokane Stealth-Coriel 8-0 in the High School Blue Division title game.

In the finals of the top high school brackets, Montana Sparks-Bessette defeated CV Vengeance from Utah 8-3 for the Red championship and Thunder Creek Titans (Calgary, Alberta) defeated Montana Sparks-Newman 8-0 in the White Bracket final.

Other bracket winners in the tournament that drew 59 teams in three divisions: 14U Red – Coeur d’Alene Crush 11, Lake City Thunder 1; 14U White – Menace 12, Spokane Stealth 3; 14U Blue – Spokane Diamonds-Nine 4, Montana Avalanche 1; 14U Fireworks – Post Falls Blast 1, LC Blaze 0; 12U Red – Calgary Kaizen Futures 9, Columbia Basin Xtreme 3; 12U White – LC Blaze-Barney 7, Lace City Thunder 5; 12U Blue – Washington Rampage (Spokane) 1, Fury Fastpitch (Montana) 0; 12U Fireworks – Maniacs (Kennewick) 16, Montana Sparks-Cooper 2.

Track and field

Seventy-six athletes from three area teams and four unattached qualified at regionals last weekend in Tacoma for the 2019 USATF Jr. Olympic Track & Field National Championships July 22-18 in Sacramento, Califorina.

The qualifiers by team and the events in which they qualified:

Spokane Mercury: Tegan Enser, 800 & 1,500; Owen Nydegger, 1,500; Quentin Enser, 1,500; Ethan Martin 1,500 & 3,000; Graham Cleveland, 3,000; Emily Spiering, 3,000; Quentin Sweet, pole vault.

Spokane Speed Academy: Naomi Butler, 800, 4x400 & 4x800 relays; Angelyca Chapman, 400, 4x100 & 4x400; La Trouchka Duke, 4x100 & 4x400; Megan Habegger, 4x400; Maya Jackson, triple jump; Lauren Krauter, 4x800; Amaya Martin, 4x400; Sariah Maughan, 800, 4x400 & 4x800; Fair Niven, 4x400 & 4x800.

Therisa Niven, 4x400; Katherine Petsch, 100 & 4x100; Sativa Rogers, long jump & 4x100; Darby Soliday, 400 hurdles & 4x400; Grace Thompson, 4x100 & 4x400; Jaela Thornburg, 4x400; Alyssa Toone, 4x100 & 4x400; Skyler Walton, 4x100 & 4x400; Madison Warren, 4x100 & 4x400.

Nathaniel Burch, 110 hurdles, 4x100 & 4x400; Elijah Gordon, 4x100; Matthew Hockett, javelin, 4x100 & 4x400; Teagun Holycoss, 4x100 & 4x400; Zackary Jongeward, 4x100 & 4x400; William Lane, 400 hurdles, 4x100 & 4x400; Caleb Maughan, 4x400; Jordan Munir, 4x400; Jaheem Peele, 4x400; Ryan Rieckman, javelin; Pedro Sandre, 4x100 & 4x400; Jacob Schnatter, 4x100 & 4x400.

Spokane Valley Flash: Amerie Wells, 400 & 4x400; Kinring Bradford, 800 & 4x100; Ethan Geach, 4x100; Keeryn McArthur, 4x100; Carson Hoener, 4x100; Chase Bates, 4x100; Lance Harvey, 4x100; Gabe Grassel, 4x100; Eli Lengle, 4x100; Noah Gadd, 4x100; Shalene Ervin, 4x100; Melea Robinson, 4x100.

Italia Bradford, 4x100 & 4x400; Lariah Hayes, 4x100; Erik Borg, 4x400; Camron Walls 4x400; Jackson Richter, 4x400; Gavin Ahumada, 4x400; Peyton Richter, 4x400; Morgan Sulpizio, 4x400; Peyton Bartholomew, 4x400; Madelyn Hutyler, 4x400; Melia Ferraro, 4x400; Aliese Henneberg, 4x400.

Carter Hasking, 4x800; Jack Weidman, 4x800; Trevor Weberg, 4x800; Zachary Severin, 2,000 steeplechase & 4x800; Rosco Schroder, shot put & javelin; Winston Schroder, shot put, javelin & 4x100; Nolan Hansen, javelin & 4x100; Julius Ervin, long jump & 4x100; Jarad Hathaway, triple jump; Ryan Conrath, triple jump.

Unattached: Keenan Kuntz, 100, 200 & long jump; Maricle Nelwon, 100; Hope Harrington, hammer; Samiah Kuntz, 200.