Baseball Title Sweet For First-Timers
A Spokane Valley Baseball championship was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill for some of last Saturday’s tournament finalists.
For others, like the Thompson family, it’s almost expected.
Rand Thompson played for a Valley Baseball Midget champion in 1975. He coached his oldest son, Josh, to a Pee Wee title 16 years later.
Saturday was youngest son Travis’s final chance as a pitcher-infielder for Broadway Eye Care Center in the Giants League for 13- and 14-year-olds.
“If Travis didn’t do it,” joked Rand, “We would have had to kick him out of the family.”
Travis didn’t disappoint, pitching his team to a 9-3 victory over Northwest Fence that capped seven hours of baseball on a blistering-hot Saturday.
In an all-West Valley area Pee Wee final for 9- and 10-year-olds, Les Schwab from Millwood defeated Dr. Velis from Orchard Center 6-1.
Midget League champion for 11- and 12-year-olds was Mountain Dew from Otis Orchards, an 11-0 winner over Ellingsen-Paxton from University.
While the Thompsons may have made Spokane Valley Baseball title games their pilgrimage, it was a first-time experience for others.
Dale Schnibbe, coach and sponsor of Broadway Eye Care, has been trying for years. Two of his teams finished among the top four. Last year, this group placed second.
“The key was picking up five or six kids who wanted to play ball,” he said. “You usually don’t get that.”
Broadway Eye Care trailed 3-1 after three innings when Caleb McGlothin slugged a two-run triple and scored on a wild pitch.
The champs took the lead on Tom Watson’s two-run single in the fourth and padded it when Michael Koentopp hit a bases loaded triple an inning later. Koentopp also doubled in the two-run seventh and closed out the game in relief with three strikeouts.
Thompson allowed five hits in 5-1/3 innings and struck out 10.
“We were hoping to get four innings out of him and he did better than that,” said Schnibbe.
Broadway Eye Care finished 16-0-1 by beating masterful Ryan Masterson who struckout 15 for Northwest Fence.
Mountain Dew coach John Danelo claimed his first championship in just two years at the helm.
His oldest son, Benn, won one a couple years ago and youngest son Brian helped Mountain Dew to this year’s win. Assistant coach Terry Haile was garnering his second title.
Mountain Dew did it while playing perhaps the toughest schedule of any of the Midget League contenders.
The team played 12 games in a month without benefit of a bye, against all but one of the league’s top seven finishers and two others in the top 10.
They avenged two of their losses in the playoffs to complete a run of nine straight victories and 13-3 overall record.
In the title game Mountain Dew avenged its regular season eight-inning 9-8 loss to Ellingsen-Paxton in a big way.
After allowing a hit and loading the bases with one out in the first inning, Kenny Zachow retired 11 in a row, striking out a total of 10.
Chad Bucher finished up with seven strikeouts in three no-hit innings.
Bucher also hit two doubles to drive in three runs, two during a four-run fourth. The team scored six runs on six hits in the sixth.
Allen Christiansen, Scott Anderson and Josh Matthews all had two hits.
Except for a 16-13 win in the quarterfinals, Mountain Dew never had a close game.
Les Schwab led 2-0 early against Dr. Velis without benefit of a hit before Greg Bradley’s two-run fourth-inning homer broke open the taught Pee Wee final.
The team scored twice more on a Nick Johnson double in the sixth.
Tyler Hobbs and Bradley pitched two-hit ball and combined for a dozen strikeouts against Dr. Velis.
CHAMPIONS ROSTERS Broadway Eye Care Center Eric Schnibbe, Travis Thompson, Jade Webley, Michael Koentopp, Brett Neste, Andrew Fuchs, John Raschko, Tom Watson, Phil Durgin, Ryan Larkin, Jared Fitting, Marty Damron and Vaughn Haas. Coaches: Dale Schnibbe and Jack Koentopp. Mountain Dew Steve Anderson, Chad Bucher, Brian Danelo, Allen Christiansen, Kenny Zachow, Scott Anderson, Josh Matthews, Chase Younker, Sean Baggarley, Shawn Potter, Ryan Graves, Steve Graves, Derek Knopp, P.J. Dudley, Steve Graves and Jason Nelson. Coaches: John Danelo and Terry Haile. Les Schwab Brian Raynor, Michael Hauschild, Mitch Phillips, Greg Bradley, Brad Alberts, Brandon Odom, David Luden, Tyler Hobbs, Gerard Odom, Jacob Hollifield, Cameron Wieber, Nick Johnson, Erik Anderson and Trevor Johnson. Coaches: Bill Phillips and Steve Bradley.