Fickle Fortune Sends Legion Teams Different Ways
A pair of Valley baseball teams with identical records had contrasting luck when it came to qualifying for the AA American Legion playoffs.
Spokane Olympic Sports (University High) and Strike Zone (West Valley) each finished 13-7 and placed third in their respective divisions.
On Friday, lucky Olympic found itself one win away from a berth in the Legion AA State tournament. Fortuitous circumstances enabled Olympic simply to reach the playoffs.
By contrast, luckless Strike Zone struck out.
Only the top two finishers in both the North and South Divisions of the league normally qualify for the playoffs. Strike Zone was excluded by finishing one-half game out of second place in the North.
Because South runnerup Key Bank opted out, citing farm harvest conflicts, the way opened for Olympic. Tied with Whitman County for third, the Valley team won a playoff Wednesday, 2-1, for the available spot.
Pitchers Chris McMurtrey and Brad Valkenaar scattered four hits after David Powell and Valkenaar drove in runs in the first and second innings against Whitman County.
Thursday night, Olympic defeated North champion Eagle Hardware 9-7 in the first game of a best-of-three series that qualifies the winner to next week’s State AA American Legion tournament in Spokane.
Bill Conant came on to pitch three-plus innings of two-hit relief and halted Eagle Hardware’s second inning rally at five runs. Brett Haiar’s two-run fifth inning single produced the win.
Aaron Fryer, Haiar, Valkenaar and Robert Bartlett all had two hits Thursday against Eagle.
The teams played again Friday and a third game, if necessary, will be today at noon at Whitworth College.
This year Spokane’s American Legion baseball divided into AAA and AA leagues. The split was OK with Olympic coach Don Ressa.
“I just like going to the yard and playing,” he said. “It was good for us. The kids we have coming back got tons of playing time and we had good seniors who played AAA. That was fine with me.”
Olympic Sports, which includes seven seniors and 10 juniors and sophomores, is 20-8 overall and won the Fourth of July tournament.
“I’m happy with the way we progressed,” said Ressa. “The pitching staff was young, but improved a lot.”
Included are currently vacationing Sean Ruscio, who is 5-2 with a 2.04 earned run average, McMurtrey, who is 3-0 and 2.53 and reliever Valkenaar, who went 3-1 and had a 3.68 ERA.
Fryer, who plays shortstop and bats leadoff, hit .479.
“David Powell,” said Ressa, “had an incredible summer.”
Olympic’s centerfielder hit .442, had three home runs and drove in 22.
First baseman Brandon Florence, hit .418 and third baseman Andy Dunham hit .340.
But it was depth from all 17 team members, said Ressa, that was key to his team’s summer success.
“All the kids are multi-sport athletes and do other things, like camps,” said Ressa. “This summer was neat. Whenever someone was gone, a back-up kid stepped in and did the job.”
For instance, Fryer was at basketball camp during the Fourth of July tournament, said Ressa. “Kyle Sale comes in and plays great for us.”
Unlike others, Olympic had no trouble fielding a team.
“These kids are committed,” said Ressa, “and I think that’s why we got some success.”
Having playoff good fortune didn’t hurt. It is, after all, an Olympic year.
, DataTimes