Wildcats remain unbeaten
Mt. Spokane pitchers faced an ominous test Wednesday against a Central Valley team that was averaging more than 11 hits and 11 runs per game.
They passed with high marks, beating the Bears 2-1 in 10-innings and 7-1 at CV.
Mark Purser and Paul Davis combined to prevail in a duel against Bears Jake Swantko and Dale Beach in the opener.
The pitchers held off several threats before Beach’s throwing error to third on a double-play ball allowed Bryan Raynor to score the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.
In game two, Mt. Spokane staff ace Cameron Joslyn flirted with perfection before settling on a one-hit victory.
“To sweep is huge,” said Wildcats coach Alex Schuerman. “We were both unbeaten coming in and you try to take it one game at a time. But we knew Ferris was on the horizon, wanted to get to 5-0 and did that.”
The last two unbeatens meet at Ferris next Tuesday. The losses dropped the Bears to 3-2 and part of a taut nine-team pack.
Mt. Spokane and CV each scored in the fourth inning of game one, but then pitched nothing but goose eggs until the 10th, when Raynor was hit by a pitch, sacrificed to second and scored on the errant throw.
Purser allowed just four hits and Davis threw three no-hit innings, though CV left the potential winning runs on third in both the eighth and ninth.
“You can’t just give up opportunities in every inning,” said CV coach Barry Poffenroth. “We didn’t execute.”
In the second game, Joslyn retired the first 14 batters he faced before his control deserted him for a time. He hit two batters and gave up an RBI hit to Matt Rodriguez. He allowed only one other base runner, while striking out eight.
First-baseman Jason Gravos seemed to be in the middle of Mt. Spokane’s scoring all day long.
He singled in the first run in the first game. In game two, he hit a second-inning double to set up the first two scores. He also singled and scored in the sixth.
“It means a lot to sweep, especially against a team like that,” Gravos said. “Those were two good games.”
East Valley 7-3, University 4-6: The host Titans (2-4, 2-3) salvaged a split by breaking a tie with three runs in the seventh inning. Brandon Kelley got a hit, stole second and Matt Fuller drove him in. Fuller had two RBIs and Kelley was 3 for 4. In the opener, Knights pitcher Bret Riggin fell behind 4-0 before retiring 14 of the last 15 batters he faced, striking out eight. He allowed five doubles in the first 2 2/3 innings. EV (3-4, 2-3) rallied, Jye Lanphere hitting the first of his two home runs in the twin bill to tie the game, and adding an RBI single in the team’s 3-run seventh. Mike Stewart tripled twice. …Gonzaga Prep 4-7, Cheney 2-3: The Bullpups (2-4, 2-3) struck quickly at home. The first four batters scored in the first game, Kyle Douglas with a two-run triple before there was an out in the opener. Six hitters scored in the first inning of game two. Matt Manix led off with a triple, first-game pitching winner Brendan Cunningham followed with an RBI double and pitcher Nick Hamad hit a two-run single. Joel Aiken went 4 for 5 on the day with a solo home run for Cheney (1-5, 1-4)…. Lewis and Clark 9-6, Rogers 2-0: The Tigers (3-4, 3-2) hit three successive RBI doubles with no one out during a six-run sixth to pull away from the Pirates (1-5, 1-4) in game one at Hart Field. In the second game, Shane Hughes pitched a four-hit shutout. Darrell Mackin hit two doubles and drove in two runs in each game. Brandon Arnold and Kevin Luby had four hits apiece, including four doubles during the sweep. …Great Northern League: Michael McCanna pitched a two-hit shutout as Chewelah (5-1, 3-1) beat Riverside (2-3, 1-3) 10-0 on the road. McCanna missed by a single of hitting for the cycle. He struck out eight. Allen Stone went 4 for 4.