Bandits Upset Blue Devils

The two Spokane Senior American Legion baseball teams were polar opposites entering Wenatchee’s Apple Valley Invitational tourney.

The Silver Lanes Bandits had entered the tournament with a 2-13 record. The Northwest Athletics Blue Devils were 9-4. The teams had played each other three times previously with the Blue Devils winning all three.

But you wouldn’t have guessed it from the results of their final game Sunday, a wild 11-10 Bandit victory over the Blue Devils in the game for third and fourth places.

The game produced 17 runs in the last inning and one-half.

Trailing 6-1 in the seventh, two hit batters, a walk, and two infield hits opened the floodgates for a 9-run inning by the Blue Devils.

A single by John Petrie sneaked between the third baseman and shortstop for two runs. Another by Travis Bouten that hit third base and bounded into foul territory accounted for two more that gave the Blue Devils a 10-6 lead.

Not to be outdone, the Bandits scored five runs in the bottom of the inning to win. Loss was a bitter pill for coach Steve Hertz.

“I was a complete wreck,” said the longtime Gonzaga University head coach. “I compare it to a big loss at GU. It doesn’t matter if it’s ping pong or baseball. Your pride’s out there.”

The Blue Devils had lost 9-8 in extra innings to Federal Way, but bounced back for 6-3 and 12-7 wins over Aberdeen and the MidColumbia Marlins.

In a game that determined their final day positioning, the Blue Devils beat host Wenatchee 10-3 on the pitching of Steve Hare.

The Blue Devils, leaders by a game over the North Stars in Spokane’s Legion league at 6-1 and now 13-6 overall, pounded out 55 hits in the tournament.

“We lost two games and blew leads in the last inning of both so that was not too bad,” said Hertz. “All the kids are all doing their best. It’s a roller coaster in this game no matter what level you’re on.”

Jason Wederspahn had three 3-hit games. Hare and Joel Evans hit safely in all five games. Several others had multihit outings.

The team was without pitching ace Patrick Donovan who played in the USA Junior Olympic Tournament. Spencer Bishop has been lost to the team with a broken foot.

Three-team race

Three teams are battling for North Division honors in the Junior Legion league.

Resurgent Garco Construction led the league heading into Wednesday’s game against CnJ Enterprises (Shadle Park).

The Gonzaga Prep team approaches season’s midpoint with an 8-1 record.

Right behind are Woodard Construction from Mt. Spokane and B&C Telephone/Dix from Lakeside.

Shadle Park’s U-16 team is the South Division Colt League leader with a 9-2 record.