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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cardinals Coach Feels Team Off To A Solid Start

Annette Griffus Correspondent

After Medical Lake softball split last week’s double header with Southridge of the Tri-Cities, coach John Higgins is pleased with how his team has developed.

“I’m about where I thought we would be,” he said. “We’re a good third-place team.”

Medical Lake (2-2 in league, 5-5 overall) won the first game 3-2, and two-year letter winner Amanda Monroe threw a solid game on the mound.

She finished the game with 12 strike-outs and one walk. The Cardinals had four hits by Jessica Ramirez, Carissa Rohner, Reanna Simmons and Kim Erickson.

Monroe, a junior, pitched again in the second game, but Southridge came back late in the seventh inning to beat the Cardinal 15-9.

Higgins believes a problem for smaller A schools is not having the quality of pitchers other teams have. Chances are, Monroe will see a lot of action on the mound this year.

Although the Cardinals are predominately a junior team, Higgins does have some sophomores who are getting plenty of playing time now.

“Ashley Coleman and Carissa Rohner - both those two are possible starters for next year,” he said. Shortstop transfer Katherine Conley, from Reardan, has made an impact on the team.

Medical Lake plays a double header against Lakeside today, then battles Newport on Saturday. Both games are at home, and Higgins believes his team can sweep Lakeside.

“Newport will be a good test for us,” he said.

Cheney hurler pitches no-hitter

Tucker Urdahl picked up his first no-hitter of the season against the Pullman Greyhounds, winning the first game of a recent double header, 10-0.

The Cheney Blackhawks remain undefeated in Frontier League play with a record of 8-0, and 9-1 overall.

“We expected (Urdahl) to throw well, and we all know he’s capable of throwing a no-hitter,” said coach Randy Elam. “I think anyone on our staff is capable.”

Matt Caston came close to grabbing his first no-hitter in the second game , but the Greyhounds were able to come back late. Cheney won 6-3.

Elam believes when a team is able to put the three aspects of baseball together - hitting, running and pitching - it can be successful while having fun.

“We felt we had a pretty good team coming in,” the coach said. “We’ve stayed healthy, which is a big thing.”

Urdahl was backed up on Saturday with three home runs from his teammates. Junior Matt Conrath hit his second homer of the season while senior Brian Miller hit number three. Colin Fiddes added his first home run of the season. Urdahl combined 5-of-7 hitting and driving in four runs.

Junior Pat Stiffler has been effective as lead-off player by getting on base and scoring plenty of runs. Trevor Webber, a senior, had a huge home run last week against Colville to put Cheney up 3-1 in what Higgins believes was the game-winning hit. The Blackhawks ended up winning, 4-1.

Chris Collins has been impressive as shortstop, making only two errors in his past 10 games.

LC tennis dominates

The Lewis and Clark boys tennis team opened the Greater Spokane League season with a 7-0 win over the University Titans.

“My kids have a pretty clear understanding of what the team goals are,” said coach Jeff Norton.

Norton believes his team is strong from the No. 1 singles player on down to the No. 3 doubles tandem.

“LC has six seniors playing varsity level this season: No. 1 one singles player Spencer Piston, No. 3 three Ben Maixner, No. 1 doubles players Joe Harris and Trevor Ashenbrenner and the No. 3 doubles team of Mike Hall and Todd Emmanuel.

The Tigers play a critical early-season match against the Mead Panthers next Thursday.

“It’s too bad for both of us that it can’t be later in the season,” Norton said. The cold weather has been a problem.

“They have to get used to it,” he said.

“It’s not going to go away, obviously.”

, DataTimes