Talent, Luck Push Pirates To Win Championship

There may be no place like home for Rogers High School’s softball team, which will compete in the State AAA tournament at Franklin Park beginning Friday at 8 a.m.

But playing on the road wasn’t so bad either.

For the second time in three years the Pirates have qualified for state, winning the Greater Spokane League’s first regional championship.

“In order to win you’ve got to be good and got to be lucky,” said Pirate coach Paul Cooley. “We were both.”

He said that sometimes things happen in a long season that are outside a team’s control. As a result the Pirates didn’t win league or district despite a 21-5 overall record.

In the regionals hits dropped in that hadn’t earlier in the year, enabling Rogers to outscore three opponents by a combined 25-8.

“This is the best hitting team I’ve had. When we lost we hit the ball right at people,” said Cooley. “This weekend all of them fell in.”

Shannon Zahrowski went 6 for 10. Four others had four hits, including Charlotte Perry who broke a 3-3 tie during Rogers’ three-run fifth inning in the comeback 4-3 title win over Wenatchee. In other games, Rogers beat Moses Lake 9-4 on Zahrowski’s four hits and routed Richland 12-1.

Pitcher Traci Moore hurled back-toback two-hitters and the Pirates committed just one error on Saturday.

Three North Side schools helped give the GSL its strongest effort in the two-year-old regional tournament, even if the Pirates were the lone state qualifier.

A year ago, Spokane’s four entrants won 4 of 11 games, three teams going a combined 1-6. This year all four GSL teams won at least once, combining for a 7-6 record. Three of the losses were by a single run.

North Central and Mead both were 1-2. The Panthers were involved in three one-run games. The Indians upset the Big Nine’s No. 2 team, Eisenhower of Yakima, before losing twice.

“The format we use in Spokane doesn’t lend well to regionals,” said Cooley. “Until we make some changes we’re fighting an uphill battle.”

He said that Big Nine teams play doubleheaders during the season and as a result at times play under the lights at night. Because the Big Nine district tournament is played all in one day, those teams are used to playing as many as three times.

“You play no less than two and as many as three games in a day during regionals,” he said. “We’re not ready for that.”

Last week’s tournament, however, showed how close the GSL has come.

Mead posts formidable numbers

Mead’s boys track team will send 11 athletes in nine events to Tacoma’s Star Track Friday and Saturday in its attempt to win a repeat State AAA championship.

Panther distance runners Micah Davis and Skiy DeTray logged times that rivaled or surpassed last year’s Star Track times when Mead finished first, second and fourth and first through third in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter distance races.

They are joined by sprinter Matt Sturm in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay, shot put and discus thrower Brian Buchanan, discus thrower Cliff Poage, javelin thrower Beau Chandler and high jumpers Curt Bergheim and Merrill Alley at state.

Other North Side athletes qualifying are javelin winner Oliver Cook of Shadle Park, and long jumper-triple jumper Anthony Gardner of Rogers, who reached 45-6 in the latter.

Girls qualifiers include Mead’s Allison Beatty, who threw 151-11 in the javelin, Autumn Wood in the 300 hurdles, Mead’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams and Rogers athletes Fawn Gray in the shot put and Jennifer Kurtzhall who cleared 5-foot-2 for second in the high jump.

Riverside earns its share

Riverside boys and girls garnered their share of berths for the State A meet Friday and Saturday in Yakima with a combined four relay teams and individuals in 14 events.

Besides winning the boys 400 meter and 1,600 meter relays, Rams distance runners Marc Horton, Jon Ashcraft and Eli Hassler advanced in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 respectively.

Hurdler David Yonker won both the high and intermediate hurdles and Jared Hansen qualified in the 100.

Riverside girls won the 400 and 800 relays and sprinter Melanie Erickson also advanced in the individual 100 and 200 dashes.

Also hurdlers Sadie Heilman and Abbie Wood are state-bound, as is 1,600 runner Nicole Lamarche.

In the field, Ramona Peterson won the discus and finished second in the shot to move on, as did long jumper Ryanne Alderson and javelin thrower Erin Nelson.

Lakeside’s Jason Quimby will chase 200 and 400 meter state titles and Lindsey McElroy qualified for state in the 3,200. So, too, did Deer Park sprinter Lisa Pansie.

Panther netters double fun

A pair of Mead boys doubles teams qualified for this weekend’s State AAA tennis tournament at Ferris High School and the Spokane Racquet Club.

The duo of senior John Wrigley and junior Eric Donovan won the regional tournament with a taut 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) decision.

After losing in the semifinals, teammates Mike Foiles and Brett Kaiser won twice to claim the region’s third state berth.

Also qualifying for state was Mead singles player Amy Fong.

NEA tennis players to state

A total of eight tennis players from Northeast A League schools Lakeside and Riverside have qualified for state.

Lakeside High School, whose boys won the A-B District 7-9 tournament with 41 points, send singles champion Aaron Bren and consolation champ Hutch Goodman along with the doubles team of David Miller and Nick Som.

The latter finished third ahead of Riverside state qualifiers Ryan Monroe and Jason West.

In the girls tournament, Riverside freshman Bernice Stime finished second for one state berth and Lakeside’s Mandy Eastwood won the consolation finals for another.