RiverHawks open second season Saturday

The Spokane RiverHawks open their second season of Pacific International League play this Saturday at Spokane Falls Community College with a 5 p.m. game against the Kelowna Falcons.

The RiverHawks, who finished 13-17 in their first PIL season, will play 41 games this year, including non-league contests.

This year’s roster lists 27 players, 11 of whom played this season at the Community Colleges of Spokane. Other new players from Washington schools include Bobby McEwen (Gonzaga), Brett Sommer (Washington State) and two University of Washington players, Jordan Ponzoha and Devin Warner.

There are six returning players, including pitchers Dan Lundeberg (Whitworth), who was 2-1 with a 1.80 earned run average for the RiverHawks last season, Nigel Goodwin (CCS), who was 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA, and Nate Williams (Gonzaga), who did not yield an earned run in six games last summer.

Another key returnee is coach Kevin Stocker, the former Central Valley and University of Washington star who went on to play in the 1993 World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The PIL is divided into two divisions, with Spokane again playing in the International. Yakima, which was 9-21 last year, has dropped out of the league, replaced by a team from Langley, British Columbia, near Vancouver.