Chris Derrick

Including designated hitter, Spokane's Rod Metzler has played six positions. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Dewey's decimals are the latest success story in the Boise system. Catcher Jason Dewey did nothing to hurt his numbers - .342 batting average, .441 on-base percentage and .532 slugging percentage - by driving in three runs with a homer and double Saturday in the Hawks' tense 7-6 victory over the Spokane Indians. Boise (19-6) took a one-game lead over Spokane (18-7) in the Northwest League's North Division. The Hawks have won four straight games and 14 of 17.

Drew Brooks refers to his Spokane Heat as a "one-stop shopping forum" for major league baseball scouts. Mark Reeves appreciates seeing the scouts, too, but has another reason for his involvement with the Heat, whose schedule includes games throughout the region.

After Northwest League baseball games of June 24, the Spokane Indians and Boise Hawks led the North Division with 5-3 records. Spokane then went on a tear, winning nine consecutive games and 13 of 16 through Friday. So what kind of distance did Spokane put between itself and Boise?

If Willie King and the Yakima Bears turn around their season, they may single out Friday's game as the main reason. King homered to lead off the ninth inning for a 5-4 lead, then a great outfield catch in the bottom of the inning allowed the Bears to survive a Spokane rally attempt. Thus ended the Indians' perfect record at Seafirst Stadium.

Joe Caruso is safe at home with the go-ahead run in the second inning as Yakima's Will McCrotty leaves the ball behind. The Indians, off to the best start in franchise history, went on to win 10-8. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

The Spokane Indians have made one change in their five-man starting rotation this year. Justin Pedersen provided solid evidence Wednesday for the wisdom of that change.

Spokane left-hander Jason Gooding is scheduled to start Friday against Yakima. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

First came the National Anthem, then Francis Scott Key and finally bombs bursting in air. All occurred Saturday at Seafirst Stadium, where the Spokane Indians (9-3) won their fourth consecutive Northwest League game, the last three in a comeback mode, and improved their home mark to 7-0. Key (1-0), Spokane's most called-up reliever to date, pitched 4-1/3 innings. He held the Everett AquaSox scoreless as the Indians overcame a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the fifth inning and three in the seventh to win 5-1 before an announced crowd of 6,888. Key, making his sixth appearance, allowed two singles, struck out six and walked one. "That was my best outing," Key said, icing his right pitching shoulder in the clubhouse while fans watched postgame fireworks. "I got ahead of the hitters and I stayed ahead." The Floridian, officially Francis Scott Key III, exited in the eighth after striking out Keith Stewart. Justin Lamber, the third Indians pitcher, closed out the inning then struck out two in the ninth. Indians pitchers chalked up 13 strikeouts.

Doug Blosser, the guy with the second chance, gave a boost Friday to the Spokane Indians, the team of second chances. Blosser hit a two-run homer to tie the game in the sixth inning and poked a go-ahead single in the seventh to guide the Indians to a 7-4 win over the Everett AquaSox at Seafirst Stadium. Spokane (8-3) took over first place alone in the North Division of the Northwest League as Boise (7-4) lost to Yakima. The Indians, 6-0 at home, have won six games in which they trailed. Friday, before a season-high, sold-out crowd of 7,109, Spokane rallied after trailing 4-1 halfway through. Blosser, who played briefly with the Indians in 1996 before running into trouble, was the big reason for the comeback. He finally figured out Everett starter Gilbert Meche in the sixth after striking out in two previous appearances. On a 1-1 fastball, the left-handed first baseman went the opposite direction for his second homer of the year. Dermal Brown, who had doubled to lead off the inning, scored run No. 3 ahead of Blosser. "My first two at-bats, he threw some pitchers' pitches," Blosser said of Meche. The Seattle Mariners' No. 1 1996 draft selection struck out 12 in six innings. "He was doing a good job of using his changeup to set up his fastball." The Indians clocked Meche's fast-ball at up to 95 mph. Meche hadn't allowed an earned run in 14 innings until Juan LeBron doubled to lead off the second and scored on a oneout single by Rico Montas.

1. Puerto Rican outfielder Juan LeBron. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Dermal Brown has hit some shots for the Indians, but his manager expects him to hit for average and steal more bases in the majors. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Linda Sheridan, center, has seen her female athletes attain a high level of respect on campus after years when it wasn't cool for girls to play sports. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Stacey Ward Ferris volleyball coach 3. Jeanne Helfer Mead girls basketball coach

While Dermal Brown continued to show his stuff Friday, Joe Dillon provided first notice of his capabilities. Brown and Dillon crushed massive home runs in the fourth inning of Spokane's 7-5 win over Salem-Keizer before 4,937 at Seafirst Stadium. Brown, 8 for 17 (.471) for the year, homered in his third consecutive game.

Dave Ullery doesn't expect to be the first catcher Jeff Garber calls upon every game. Sometimes, being No. 3 has its advantages. Ullery, as a pinch-hitter for second catcher Jeremy Hill, singled with the bases loaded in the ninth inning Thursday to lift the Spokane Indians to a 7-6 win over the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.

Dermal Brown started to grab his glove and prepare for extra innings. "Wait, 'D,"' said batting coach Greg Smith. "There are only two outs." So instead of taking his place in left field, Brown snatched a bat and saw to it that the Spokane Indians wouldn't need extra innings. Brown singled to right field with the bases loaded in the ninth inning Wednesday, rallying Spokane to a 5-4 Northwest League win over Salem-Keizer at Seafirst Stadium.

Spokane's Dave Willis and Salem-Keizer's Michael Byas look for the call after a play at third base. Byas was ruled safe. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Garber

1. Stretching into summer. Indians outfielder Dermal Brown, K.C.'s first-round pick in 1996, limbers up during minicamp. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Indians pitcher Ken Fitzpatrick has tried everything but acupuncture to recover from injuries. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

1. The Spokane Indians hope to be in the running when the Northwest League season, which starts Tuesday, comes to a close. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Pitcher Scott Key comes to Spokane after starting the season with the Lansing Lugnuts.

Weather permitting, the 1997 version of the Spokane Indians will be unveiled today. Most of the 33 roster players are expected at Seafirst Stadium as Spokane opens a four-day minicamp at 1:45 this afternoon. Whether Thursday's rain would linger and play havoc with the first-day schedule was not a major concern for Indians front office personnel preparing for a new Northwest League baseball season. Spokane begins its season at home for the first time in six years. The league's newest team, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, arrives Tuesday for a five-game set.

Without playing a game, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes have doubled their attendance. Salem-Keizer, formerly the Bellingham Giants, has sold nearly 2,500 season tickets as it prepares for its inaugural season in the Northwest League. President Jerry Walker's team drew a league-low average of less than 1,300 last season in Bellingham. Walker announced last Sept. 11 the team would return NWL baseball to the Salem area for the first time since 1989. "The (Bellingham) facility was substandard, and we were unable to convince the city to upgrade the stadium," said Pat Dillon, who serves as the Volcanoes' director of public relations, accounts executive and coradio announcer.

It's a rare season when a No. 1 draft selection is sent to play for the Spokane Indians. This shakes out to be a rare season. The Kansas City Royals announced Saturday that their No. 1 selection from the 1996 amateur draft, outfielder Dermal Brown, will be on the roster when the Indians open their minicamp Friday.

Phase Two of the Spokane American Legion Baseball Experiment be gins this week. The Spokane organization altered its method of constructing senior teams last year. The old league carried 18 senior teams, with rosters that generally kept together players from the area's larger high schools. Last year officials formed five AAA teams, with top players from different schools playing together.

AAA tennis Mead's Bill Wagstaff waited 19 years to coach a boys tennis state finalist. Senior Brett Kaiser and freshman Tory Gambill ended Wagstaff's wait in a big way Saturday by winning the State AAA boys doubles championship.