Yakima Rides Roughshod Over Indians

For a sixth straight Northwest League baseball season, the Spokane Indians will be saddled with a losing record.

The Indians, whose belated late-season bid for the North Division pennant ended during the weekend at Seafirst Stadium, had that ignominious fate bestowed upon them Monday night in a 13-2 spanking by the Yakima Bears.

At the same time, Yakima maintained solid pennant hopes with its 21st win in 24 games. The Bears (37-35) remain one game behind Bellingham (38-34), a 3-1 winner over Everett, with three to play.

Spokane is 34-39 with three to play.

Yakima unloaded a season-high 19 hits - also a season high for the Spokane pitching staff - and had mounted a 13-0 lead by the time the Indians managed a couple of unearned runs in the eighth.

Tony Mota snapped out of a slump for the Bears, going 3 for 5 with four RBIs. Three came on a home run that highlighted a six-run fourth in which the Bears sent 11 batters to the plate. All the runs were unearned, the result of two Spokane errors.

Damian Rolls had a home run in the third for the Bears and Peter Bergeron an inside-the-park home run in the fateful fourth.

The game started on an ominous note for Spokane. Indians outfielders lost two balls in the overcast sky and the Bears turned them into runs - one a two-run Matt Meyer triple.

Spokane parlayed two walks with an error and double play for its eighth-inning runs.

The clubs meet here again tonight.