Cuban Beats Kerwick

Lightweight Mahlon Kerwick of Spokane was unable to ride the tide of United States victories Saturday in the first round of the World Amateur Boxing Championships at Houston.

The recent University High School graduate, whose heart is set on earning a berth on the U.S.

Olympic team, lost a 10-4 decision to Cuban champion Mario Kindelan.

Kerwick advanced to the World Championships after claiming the 132-pound title at the U.S. Challenge in June.

Five U.S. fighters - flyweight John Medina, bantamweight Clarence Vinson, welterweight Larry Mosley, light flyweight Brian Viloria and light heavyweight Michael Simms Jr. - did advance to the second round of the event at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Kerwick, who was looking for his first significant international experience, came up against one of the world’s best lightweights.

In Kindelan, Kerwick, 18, was facing the 1998 Goodwill Games and 1999 Pan American Games gold medalist. Kindelan’s edge in experience was obvious in the bout as he scored early and often, evading Kerwick’s attempts to score points. With 5 seconds left in the first round, Kindelan was penalized for a low blow which made the score, 4-2.

In the remaining three rounds, Kindelan allowed Kerwick to score only two more points to his six.

Softball

Stadium Sports of Spokane, the defending champion, stands at the brink of another ASA Women’s Major Modified National Championship.

Stadium Sports has two chances to win the title of the double-elimination tournament today at Franklin Park.

The 1998 champs downed Polanski’s of Colville 7-6 and outscored the Rogers Renegades of Hookset, N.H., 10-8 on Saturday. Rogers will face Julie’s of New York at 10 a.m. today to see which will play Stadium Sports for the title at noon.

If Stadium Sports loses that game, a second game will follow.

Julie’s advanced by defeating Spokane’s Hitchcock Construction 14-4 after Rogers had bounced Hitchcock from the winners bracket 10-0. Julie’s then defeated Polanski’s, which winds up fourth, 7-2.

Polanski’s had made its debut in the losers bracket by eliminating Team Spokane 6-3 after Team Spokane had sent Mister Ed’s home to Wild Rose, Wis., with a 15-3 win.

Golf

Spokane’s Alex Prugh lost 2 and 1 to Josh Immordino of Maplewood Golf Club in the fourth-flight finals of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Junior Boys Championship at Penticton, British Columbia.

Two Columbia Basin golfers played for the title in their flights.

Derick Potter of Othello trounced Chris Jelstad of Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, 6 and 5 in the ninth flight. Moses Lake’s Brian Fagg was beaten 3 and 2 by Levi Venn of Auburn, Wash., in the sixth flight.

Baseball

All four games in the American Legion World Series at Middletown, Conn., were postponed by rain.

The full schedule was pushed back one day with the Kennewick Dusters now lined up to face Bloomington, Minn., in pool play today. The Dusters beat Portland, Maine, in their first game on Friday.