Chris Derrick

Down for the count Krista Nelson and the Mead Panthers come up short in the third and decisive game as Ferris scores a Greater Spokane League knockout. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

Katie Damon, left, serves up a busy lifestyle. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

The Crossover Classic may burst its seams in the coming years, but organizers aren't acting yet to stop its growth. The daylong volleyball tournament, scheduled Saturday at four sites, has expanded from 32 to 36 teams this year. Eight other teams are on the waiting list. Tourney co-founder Linda Sheridan, coach at Shadle Park, has a profound theory as to why the Crossover had more than doubled during its four-year history. "Buzzie doesn't know how to say no, is the bottom line," Sheridan said of co-founder Buzzie Welch, Lewis and Clark's coach. Returning to this year's field are 17 of the top 18 placers. Area teams who finished in the top 10 in 1996 were Ferris, first; Gonzaga Prep, fourth; Colfax, sixth; Coeur d'Alene, seventh; Rogers, eighth; and LC, ninth. All Greater Spokane League teams are entered and will play at least one league match. Tourney sites are Shadle, LC, Ferris and North Central. Finals are scheduled at 7:45 p.m., with the title match at NC. Cavanaugh's Inns is the tourney's new sponsor. Etter should be better Shadle junior middle blocker Michelle Etter didn't injure her ankle as badly as first feared. Highlanders coach Sheridan expects Etter to return as early as next week. Etter, a returning all-leaguer, came down on a teammate's foot while attempting a block against Rogers last Thursday. Shadle's trainer told Sheridan that similar mishaps often result in broken bones. Program notes The fifth annual Ferris volleyball media guide arrived at the office last week. One yearly highlight is the cover photo, which displays the Saxons in colorful garb with a resplendent background. This year's backdrop is the U.S. Pavilion at Riverfront Park. Players' biographies are the other high point. A sampling of this year's: Erin Beaumont: "Hopes eventually to be a housewife with 10 children." Missy Blackshire: "Plans either to become a lawyer or a backup singer for Whitney Houston." Amy George: "After graduating from college, Amy would like to be a regular on American Gladiators." Holly Kirschke: "Plans to get an academic scholarship to college, then join the international pingpong circuit." Katie Lee: "Future plans include going to WSU before taking over as host of Talk Soup." Janelle Morrisette: "Plans to 'find her sphere in order to prevent chaos in the world."' The humorous Saxons take aim at a GSL first-place tie on Tuesday, when they welcome Mead. The match should determine the league championship. Ferris owns six GSL titles, Mead four. Top at the Mountain LC's girls topped 18 teams at last Saturday's Mountain West Classic, a college and high school cross country meet in Missoula, Mont. Fifth-place Jamie Borgan, 19 minutes and 14.5 seconds for 3 miles, led the Tigers. Emily Hawkins, second in 18:19.2, and Jill Johnson, fourth in 19:08.4, guided Ferris to third place. Dan Schruth, in 18:34.3, and Tyson Magney, 18:40.8, went 1-2 to lead the Ferris boys to second place among 22 teams. Nick Vollmer placed 10th in 18:55.2 for third-place LC. The exact race distance wasn't announced. Cooke keeps smoking Senior forward Mark Cooke of St. George's boys soccer team has 19 goals and five assists. Milk money The Dairy Farmers of Washington has signed a two-year extension of its sponsorship of prep state championships with the WIAA. The deal is worth $195,000 this year and $205,000 in 1998-99.

Kara Jordan headed Leah Brereton's corner kick over the top of the goal. "Hey, Kara," University coach Brandon Deyarmin said from the sidelines, "you have to jump up for those and head them down." Jordan took the advice and moments later headed another Brereton corner kick past Jessica Froelich for a goal at 29 minutes.

Tom Becker took the lesson he learned last Saturday and passed it on to Seth Mott. Becker, defeated for the first time at last weekend's Farragut Invitational, ended Mott's unbeaten cross country season Wednesday in a Greater Spokane League three-way at Finch Arboretum. "(The Farragut loss) got me fired up for this race," Becker, a Mt. Spokane junior, said after completing the 5,000-meter course in 16 minutes. "I wanted people to start thinking about me again."

Mt. Spokane's Tom Becker puts some distance between himself and the pack. Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review

The wave of Hawkinses continues unabated at Ferris High. Isaac Hawkins has taken his championship form to Stanford University this autumn after two State AAA titles, but he left behind something valuable: advice for his sister. "I talked to him a lot about his junior and senior years," senior Emily Hawkins said after winning the varsity girls race Saturday at Shadle Park's Highlander Invitational. "He's been a good role model for me," she added. "I miss him; I'm trying to carry on for him."

Staci Schuerman and the Mead Panthers relished last year's ride with Jessica Sanborn, but this year has seen a different excursion. Friday, in fact, was quite a trip for Mead. Led by Schuerman's 15 digs and 12 kills, the Panthers flashed their rallying talents during a 16-14, 13-15, 15-12, 15-7 Greater Spokane League volleyball win over visiting Ferris.

Emily Fuller expects to be a strong runner for Lewis and Clark. Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review

Mt. Spokane will be competitive in the GSL this season thanks to former Mead runners (from left) Zach Myers, Tom Beck, Chris Amistoso and Matt Pederson. Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review

"Now then," the well-wisher said to Amy George, "aren't you glad you turned out?" George admitted that, yes, she could grow accustomed to this volleyball stuff. Just don't expect her to stay away from the basketball court whenever Ferris volleyball practices are over.

1. Janelle Morrisette digs out a serve at a practice. Her specialty is setting for Missy Blackshire's spikes. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Missy Blackshire will be at WSU next year. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Danielle Mirabel isn't the fastest player, but usually gets to center of action first. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

So that's the reason Dan Reichert was drafted in the first round. And those were the Spokane Indians we remembered from early summer. August made its last stand Sunday, and the Indians used the occasion to stomp Everett 11-2 in this year's final game at Seafirst Stadium. Spokane (43-30) started the Northwest League season 18-5, but hit a 10-16 slide after July 13 and fell behind Boise for good in the North Division. Reichert (3-4), making his ninth and final start as an Indian, scattered four singles and allowed no earned runs over five innings. His slider working its magic, Reichert struck out eight and walked none. "I came in here (after signing late with the Kansas City Royals) and everyone expected me to be 9-0 or whatever," said Reichert, the seventh overall selection in the June draft. "But you're not going to have your best stuff every day." The Indians led 7-0, on the strength of a five-run third, when Reichert left after hitting a pitch count of 70. The right-hander from the University of Pacific never allowed a runner past second base. "Today, I knew we would have a lot of fans, so I wanted to put on a show for them," Reichert said. The sold-out crowd of 7,184, treated to post-game fireworks, pushed the Indians to an attendance of 185,304 for 38 home dates, or a record average of 4,876. The previous mark, set last year, was an average of 4,761. "I wish it was the last game of the playoffs and we had just won the championship," said Indians manager Jeff Garber. "But we've had some down times and we've fought through them." The first two games of the series were down times, as Spokane committed 11 errors and lost to Everett (29-44) 11-5 and 6- 3. Indians fielders played flawlessly for their home season sendoff. The hitters lined up to do damage against starter Tony DeJesus (2-6) and Matt Noe. Rod Metzler, aboard five times, scored twice and had the big hit in the third, a two-run double; Jeremy Hill was aboard all five times, three on walks and two on singles, and scored twice; Rico Montas singled in his final three at-bats and scored twice; and Kirk Taylor ripped a two-run triple to right-center in the fifth. "It was good to leave this town with a sense of how good this team can be," said Garber, who may be in line to return as manager next year. Everett's Juan Silvestre hit a solo homer in the seventh, his third in two games. Spokane plays its final three games of the year in Yakima, starting at 7:05 tonight. Corey Thurman (1-1, 5.68 ERA) will start for the Indians. Notes Thurman and a female partner sang the National Anthem for the sellout crowd. ... Spokane finished 23-15 at home after starting 10-0. ... NWL doubles leader Juan LeBron (27) and Doug Blosser (11 homers, 47 RBIs) didn't start Spokane's final home game. LeBron hurt his right hand during the recent series at Boise. ... Spokane's Goefrey Tomlinson singled in the third to increase his hitting streak to 16 games. ... Jason Gooding, just moved up from Spokane to Lansing (Mich.) of the Midwest League, lost his first start after a shaky 4-2/3 innings for the Lugnuts Saturday. Gooding was 4-0 with Spokane and 11-0 with Texas Tech this year.

How the West was Won has been well documented. The Spokane Indians know where to look when deciphering How the North was Lost. Spokane was eliminated from Northwest League North Division contention Saturday night, as Everett left fielder Juan Silvestre hit two towering home runs in the AquaSox's 6-3 win at Seafirst Stadium.

Harvey Hargrove wouldn't describe himself as an outfielder or a leadoff hitter. Funny, he looked pretty sharp at both spots Friday. Hargrove hit the first pitch of the game for a home run, starting the Everett AquaSox toward an 11-5 decision over the Spokane Indians at Seafirst Stadium. Hargrove, more precisely Harvey Hargrove Jr., played in right field instead of his accustomed spot in the infield because the parent club Seattle Mariners moved Everett outfielders Mike Marchiano and Fernando Espino up to Class A Wisconsin on Friday. Marchiano was leading the Northwest League with 15 home runs, while Espino was hitting .336, third-best in the league.

Harvey Hargrove wouldn't describe himself as an outfielder or a leadoff hitter. Funny, he fit in pretty well at both spots Friday. Hargrove hit the first pitch of the game for a home run, starting the Everett AquaSox toward an 11-5 decision over the Spokane Indians at Seafirst Stadium.

Ken Fitzpatrick's two-year wait ended Friday, but someone else had to tell him. Fitzpatrick, Spokane's third pitcher, ended a bases-loaded situation in the seventh inning as the Indians topped Eugene 6-3 at hot, crowded Seafirst Stadium. Fitzpatrick (1-1) won for the first time since pitching for Springfield (Ill.) in 1995. He missed the '96 season after undergoing surgery on his right elbow, and saw his first action with the Indians on July 17. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound right-hander worked an uneventful eighth inning before exiting. Because Spokane broke a 3-all tie with two runs in the seventh, Fitzpatrick was credited with the win. Still, Fitzpatrick didn't know the win was his until Friday's starter, Corey Thurman, told him in the clubhouse.

The Mike Roberts of Thursday night had no resemblance to the Mike Roberts of five days previous. Coming off the shortest outing by a Eugene starting pitcher this year, Roberts (6-5) handcuffed Spokane for seven innings as the Emeralds won 6-2 to open a five-game Northwest League set at Seafirst Stadium.

'Guy with an abnormal pitch' puzzles Tribe. Yakima's Rick Bell slides home with a third-inning run Wednesday afternoon when the Bears beat the Spokane Indians. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

The return of Jason Gooding means changes for the Spokane Indians' pitching rotation. These type of changes, the Indians can handle.

Just your typical 14-13 baseball game at Seafirst Stadium Monday turned on three balls hit to left field. The one hit farthest to left amounted to a long out and the end of a rally.

1. Jeremy Hill has been limber at the plate, hitting .295. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Hill has made the switch from pitching for his high school squad in Dallas to providing the target for Spokane Indians hurlers. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Rico Montas slides into second with a stolen base as Portland's Jerome Alviso takes the throw. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review