Crush win ASA tournament

The Coeur d’Alene Crush 18-U softball club won the 27-team ASA 18-U “B” West National championship Friday at Franklin Park with an 8-5 victory over the Thermal (Calif.) Sliders in nine innings.

The Crush tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth with back-to-back singles by Mallory Twidt (Lakeland High School) and Kylie Chandler (Coeur d’Alene), then took over with four straight hits and a walk to take a 5-2 lead.

“In the fifth, it seemed like the girls had won it all,” Crush coach Garry Stark said.

But Thermal came back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out, bases-loaded triple to eventually force extra innings.

In the top of the ninth with the bases loaded, Jenna Delong (CdA) hit a line drive toward the second baseman, but an errant throw to first allowed Jessyca Le (CdA) and Chandler to score. Spring Montgomery (East Valley) followed with an RBI single that scored Brianna Robson (CdA).

Montgomery struck out five of the first six batters she faced and forced a groundout to seal the victory.

The Crush, who were playing at the 14-U level just two years ago, went 6-0 in tournament play to follow up a third-place finish at the Idaho State championships.

“We decided to play in exposure tournaments and at the 18-U level so that we could be seen by college coaches in the Northwest,” Stark said. “We played against ‘A’ teams and competed with them all, but we went into Nationals with a 5-7-1 record.”

Also playing for the Crush were: Heather Helmhout, Jordan Corbey, Dana Lyon, Lindsey Stark and Jackie Lenz (all CdA); and Christina Lynn (Lake City).

Three Spokane teams finished in the top 10, led by the fifth-place Spokane Impact. Eagle Sportswear finished seventh, and the Spokane Mustangs finished ninth. Other local teams competing were the Spokane Illusion and Northwest Wildfire from Coeur d’Alene, who finished tied for 13th, and the Lewiston Dawgs, who finished 17th.

•The Spokane Angels finished sixth of 54 teams in the ASA 18-U “A” West Nationals in Portland, Ore., last week.

The Angels finished 4-2 in the tournament, including a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Pride to put them one game from the quarterfinals. Jackie Purser (Mt. Spokane) hit a three-run homer in the third inning to put the Angels ahead.

They were eliminated by the Simply Wild Rebels of Kelso, Wash., 3-2 after losing a late 2-1 lead on a throwing error.

Purser led the Angels with seven RBIs, followed by Whitney McDaniel (Central Valley) with six. Laura Christianson (Gonzaga Prep) hit a team-high .400 in the tourney.

Also playing for the Angels: Rian Stiles (Central Valley), Jami Taxter (Rogers), Stacy Hamer (Gonzaga Prep), Meagan Pumphrey (Quinault, Wash.), Brittani Clifford (Big Sky, Mont.), Ashley Powell (Big Sky) and Kayla Devlin (Big Sky).

•After winning their first two games, the Spokane Sliders dropped their next two and finished 33rd of 138 teams Friday at the ASA 18-U “A” Nationals at Columbus, Ga.

The Sliders defeated the Tennessee Raiders 3-2 and the Oklahoma Firebirds 1-0 before falling 1-0 to both the Missouri Madness and the Atlanta Diamonds.

Randi Sandifer (Shadle Park/Montana State University) led the Sliders’ offense against Tennessee, going 3 for 4 with a double, while pitcher Samantha Skillingstad (Shadle Park) struck out 44 batters in 26 2/3 innings in the tournament.

Also playing for the Sliders: Stephanie Trudeau (Shadle Park/Dartmouth), Christina Rios (Auburn, Wash./Wichita State), Angela Arment (East Valley/Blue Mountain CC), Rachelle Solom (St. Maries/South Florida CC), Mickenzy Alden (Central Valley), Danielle Lynn (Shadle Park), China Frost (Shadle Park), Ashley Fargher (University), Heather Jackson (Shadle Park) and Katie Hinrichs (Pullman). They are coached by George Lynn.

Basketball

The Spokane Lady Stars won the girls’ 10th-grade division at the American Roundball Corporation Las Vegas National Championships, held July 27-31.

The Lady Stars went 6-0 in the tournament, defeating the Ventura (Calif.) Galaxy 38-36 in the championship game. Kelsey Mitchell (University) hit a go-ahead jumper with less than 20 seconds remaining. Brittany Kennedy (Lewis and Clark) sealed the victory on defense by blocking a 3-point attempt and stealing an inbounds pass with 4.2 seconds remaining.

Also playing for the Lady Stars: Kelsey Baker (Lewis and Clark), Janessa Carr (University), Courtney Hatch, Kiara January (Lewis and Clark), Kandice McArthur (Post Falls), Jennifer McVeigh (Post Falls), Jensen Sayman (Gonzaga Prep) and Loree Weaver (Lewis and Clark). They are coached by Gerald Kennedy, Dave Baker and Jennifer Kennedy.

Golf

Washington tied with Oregon for first place at the Junior America’s Cup Tournament, held July 26-28 at Powderhorn Ranch Golf Club in Sheridan, Wyo.

Joel Dahmen (Clarkston) was the low individual in the tournament with a three-day total of 204. He also set a course record by shooting 31 on the back nine. Dustin Poe (Ferris) shot 225. Also playing for Washington were T.J. Bordeaux and Andrew Yun.

Track and Field

Five local athletes placed in the youth divisions of the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, held July 26-31 in Indianapolis.

Justin Graff earned All-American honors twice by finishing in the top eight, taking third in youth boys javelin (169 feet) and seventh in youth boys high jump (5 feet, 7 inches).

Bo Schuetzle also placed in two events, finishing eighth in youth boys triple jump (37-2 1/2 ) and 25th in youth boys long jump (17-1 1/2 ).

In other boys’ action, Bryce Engstrom finished sixth in youth boys high jump (5-7) and Tanner Comes placed 16th in bantam boys javelin (74-1).

On the girls’ side, Leigh Fredrickson finished fifth in the young women’s 2K steeplechase in 7 minutes, 58.97 seconds.