Shadow Are In U.S. Open Cup

The Spokane Shadow have secured a spot in the first round of the United States Open Cup soccer tournament.

While the Shadow overcame Willamette Valley on Saturday night in Albi Stadium, their primary competition for the USL Premier League’s Western Conference berth, San Fernando (Calif.) Valley, was drubbed 6-1 by the Tucson Amigos.

The results gave Spokane a five-point lead over San Fernando, which has one game and a maximum five points remaining. However, should the teams tie in points, the first tiebreaker is record, and Spokane is 4-0.

So while the Shadow get ready to open their regular USL season this weekend, they await word on their first-round U.S. Open Cup match.

Initial matches will be in early June, with four USL Premier League and four U.S. Amateur Soccer Association teams pitted against eight USL Division 3 (pro) teams. Opponents, dates and sites are expected to be announced next week.

It’s possible Spokane could face the Chico (Calif.) Rooks or Arizona Sahuaros, Pacific West Division D-3 teams that have clinched Cup berths.

Spokane opens its regular USL season Friday night against the Seattle Sounders Selects in Renton, then return to Albi to meet the Abbotsford (British Columbia) 86ers Saturday night that will feature a postgame fireworks show.

Pro golf

Professional Mark Gardner of The Creek at Qualchan and amateur Kent Brown of the Colville Elks are at 3-over-par 75 and seven strokes off the pace after the first round of the BMW Washington Open in Olympia.

Amateur Roger Thorn of Bellevue and pro Rand Veal of Puetz Golf Center share the lead at 4-under 68.

Former Spokane golfers Stu Aden and Chris Mitchell, both of Tumwater, are at 70 and 72, respectively.

The 54-hole tournament runs through Wednesday.

High school baseball

Pitcher Pat Thomas took home a pair of victories to lead the St. George’s Dragons in a sweep of the District 7 B tournament at Seafirst Stadium on Monday.

The Dragons defeated Curlew, the Panorama League’s No. 1 seed, 8-7 in the opener and Northwest Christian 11-4 in the championship game.

The wins give St. George’s District 7’s No. 1 seeding into the Region 3 tournament Saturday at Spokane Falls Community College, where the Dragons will face Almira/Coulee-Hartline. ACH, which had come into the district tournament as the Bi-County’s No. 1 seed, came out as the district’s No. 3 after a 7-3 loss to NWC and a 9-8 win over Curlew.

Also in the regional at SFCC, which serves as the first two rounds of state play, will be District 9 No. 2 Tekoa-Oakesdale against the North Central Washington champion.

NWC and Curlew will play in the Region 4 tournament in Walla Walla. NWC draws Waitsbugh and Curlew faces District 9 champion DeSales.

In Monday’s opener at Seafirst, the Dragons saw a 5-1 lead vanish as the Cougars chipped away until a four-run sixth gave Curlew a 7-5 lead. St. George’s tied it in the sixth on Tom DePonty’s two-run single. The Dragons had runners on second and third with no outs when Eric Johnson ripped a single through Curlew’s drawn-in infield for the winner.

Thomas came on in relief in the sixth inning to pick up the win.

NWC defeated ACH behind Zach Strandy’s seven strikeouts. He scattered six singles. Eric Bell had three hits and three RBIs and John Proffitt scored three runs.

Thomas hit a two-run triple to give the Dragons a 2-1 lead in the fifth against NWC and scored on Dan Dhillon’s double. Dhillon scored on DePonty’s single in the four-run rally.

In the fifth inning, the Dragons led off with three straight hits and scored seven runs. Thomas struck out eight in six innings. He had five hits and drove in four runs in the wins.

ACH scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Curlew. ACH had 19 hits, four by Blinn Carstensen.