Mike Vlahovich

One inning made all the difference as the Vancouver Canadians scored six times early and weathered a comeback bid by Spokane Tuesday night at Avista Stadium. Despite back-to-back home runs by Aja Barto and Vincent DiFazio in the sixth inning, the visitors prevailed 6-4 to even their series at two games apiece.

Participating in Spokane’s cultural recreational sporting phenomena such as Hoopfest becomes a difficult habit to break, as the 70-plus who have perfect attendance in all 20 can attest. For three of them, it isn’t so much the competition but the camaraderie that has kept them coming back from Hoopfest’s inception. High school buddies John Hentges, Andy Mitchell and Ryan Larsen play on the same team and, along with another high school pal, Alex Schuerman, have done so for the past 17 summers.

Jake Partridge, selected in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball draft and previously a signee with Gonzaga University, has opted to turn pro. The Rogers High multisport standout signed his contract this week with the Tampa Bay Rays and reports Thursday to their Gulf Coast League rookie team.

How do you quantify the success of a high school sports season? Certainly you can measure it in the trophies won, and once again this year area teams and athletes earned their share.

TACOMA – A pair of multiple-event Great Northern League state qualifiers focused their efforts into one good performance and a third took advantage of a do-over during the State 2A track and field meet at Mount Tahoma High. After bombing in her javelin appearance a day earlier, Pullman’s Niina Al-Hassan won the 300-meter hurdles Saturday.