Valley Electric takes title

Two teams completed undefeated seasons, and two title games had identical outcomes, during this past week’s championships of Spokane Valley Baseball.

As it had done seasonlong, Valley Electric breezed, 14-0 over VEBA, to cap a perfect Giants League season.

Midget and Pee Wee League champions Valley Instant Printing and A-L Compressed Gases both rallied for 3-2 wins in their finales at University Elementary on hot July evenings. A-L’s title also capped an unbeaten season.

•Giants: In the title game against VEBA (Evergreen), Valley Electric pitchers allowed just one hit, staff ace Joey Lawrence throwing four no-hit innings and striking out seven.

A nine-run third inning broke open the game.

Jesse Perry went 4-for-5 with four runs batted in and Nick Baggarley was 3-for-5 with a home run.

Those stats pretty much spoke to Valley Electric’s season.

The Mountain View athletes scored in double figures in all but one of their victories and outscored the opposition by an average score of 19-3 over the final seven games to finish 14-0.

“Our defense was sound, and the hitting?” said coach Mark Baker. “The boys just crushed the baseball.”

At the beginning of the season, he went on, the team needed to find pitchers. Lawrence was one, starting nearly every game and finishing with 76 strikeouts. Alec Baker and Justin Kirk provided relief, which allowed Perry to concentrate on catching.

“He was one of one of our better ones (pitchers), but we needed him behind the plate,” Baker said.

Perry hit for a torrid .806 average, 25-for-31, with six doubles two triples and a home run. In the playoffs he went 9-for-10 with four more doubles and a triple. And he wasn’t even the team’s top regular season hitter.

Blake Bollman went 34-for-41, hitting, a .829 clip. Obviously, given the 195 runs scored for the season, there were other contributions. Alec Baker hit .625 with five doubles and Baggarley hit seven doubles, two triples and a home run.

“A number of our players (five) have been with me since T-ball seven years ago,” said Baker. Four others were on the team every other year. “You lose some and some move up, but they were the foundation of the team.”

They made the playoffs several times, including one final, but this is their first title.

Other team members are Keith Babington, Josh Bacheller, Kyle Beshoar, Aaron Christianson, Zack Edinger, Jonathon Hicks, Jake Reynolds and Eric Wagemann. Wagemann was hitting .555 and was the team’s No. 2 pitcher before he broke his wrist and missed the last half of the season.

“The kids are very excited,” said Mark Baker of the Giants League championship. “And I’m excited for them. They worked hard all year.”

•Midgets: They say that one person can’t do it all, but Dustin Dach did his best. Dach, Valley Instant Printing’s starting pitcher and catcher, hit two long blows to account for every run in the 3-2 victory over Banner Fuel.

Included was a scorching two-run fifth-inning home run — his team’s only hit — to bring the Trentwood champions from behind.

It was the third meeting between the teams, who had split during regular season.

Top-seeded Banner Fuel (which ended 12-2) had reached the finals with a 13-3 win over Spokane Valley Shrine Club. Second-ranked VIP (11-3) beat Randall & Hurley, Inc., 10-4.

Banner (Pasadena Park), led 1-0 when Hunter Wells, who’d played on two straight Pee Wee titlists, stole home in the first. Dach’s fly ball that dropped in centerfield tied the game in the second, but errors in the fourth put Banner back in front.

The next inning the lanky Dach smacked one into the gap in left centerfield for his 10th home run this summer.

“He’s worked hard all season and is fundamentally right there with the game,” said his coach and dad, Lyle Dach.

Sizable catcher-pitcher counterpart Matthew Stewart got the final six outs, striking out five. Between them, Dach and Stewart fanned 15 against a team with eight players who had won the Pee Wee title in 2004 and three of whom were on last year’s champs.

“For the last three years it’s been back and forth between us and I expected a close game tonight,” Lyle Dach said. “All year we’ve been working towards this day. Both teams came out strong, but we had the one extra clutch hit when we needed it.”

Team members are Tyler Barnes, Trevor Bennett, Caleb Burger, Chase Carbonneau, Dach, Thomas Dedera, Gunnar Hendrickson, Alec Jespersen, Cody Jewell, Josh Luiten, Kevin Maningas, Tommy Matsuda, Joseph Peltier, Stewart and Scott Taylor.

•Pee Wees: At season’s end last summer, A-L Compressed Gases coach Tanya DeGeest said that this would be her team’s year.

The comment proved prophetic and a 15-0 season was the reward.

But not until A-L rallied for a 6-4 semifinal win in eight innings over White Elephant (Summit) and 3-2 over Spokane County Deputy Sheriff’s Association (Sunrise) for the title.

The McDonald team trailed Sunrise 2-0 after an inning when starter Angelo Gonzalez gave up back-to-back hits to Alec Grebe and Tyler Pichette to open the game.

He settled down to retire eight of the final nine batters he faced, Kyle Bush struck out eight in his three-inning stint, working out of a bases-loaded one out fifth, and A-L scrapped back.

Dylan Rabideaux, batting ninth, singled in a run in the second and again in the fourth to tie the game. Wyatt Setzer, the 10th hitter, followed with a base hit to plate what proved to be the winner.

“The big guys weren’t hitting at all. I think they were trying to go for the fence,” said DeGeest. “Dylan and Wyatt are not big hitters, but they just came through big-time.”

Although she lost some players expected back, the core of A-L’s team returned.

Included were Gonzalez, Steven Pesch, Trace Hussey, her son Trent Ferster, Alec Iris (who missed the title game because of vacation) and Shawn Standish, who have played together three years and more.

Others back from last year were Bush, Rabideaux and Michael Prothero. Newcomers are Setzer, Mackenzie Conn, Tucker Foote, Justin Hombel, Jason Nowell and Peyton Parker.

“You never know what’s going to happen. It’s almost a spooky feeling because you don’t want your first loss to be in the championship game,” said DeGeest. “But it’s been a fun run and one of the best scenarios we could have had. I’m still on cloud nine, and the boys are ecstatic.”

Softball finals Sunday

Today begins championship weekend for Spokane Valley Girls Softball, which completes tournaments of its four leagues on Sunday.

Double-elimination tourney play began as early as Wednesday for teams, but bulk of the competition will be this weekend to determine overall champions.

All games this weekend are at East Valley Middle School.

Title games in 16U begin at 1:30 p.m., for 14U at 1:15 and for 10U at 1:10 Sunday. The 12U tournament will include the two division championships beginning at 10:45 a.m. Winners of those will play for the overall title and second-place division placers for third at 3:15 p.m.

Top 16U seeds White Elephant (8-2) and Old Country Buffet (7-3) begin competition today against Friday’s winners of the Home Run Construction (2-8) vs. BNSF (6-4) and Liberty (5-5) vs. Dana Graphics (2-8) games.

In 14U, Farrell’s Spray Service finished regular season at 10-0. Commercial Battery and Spokane Packaging were both 8-2 and Reagan Construction was 7-3.

Top teams in 12U Division I were McCoy’s Pitching Staff (10-0), Eljay Oil and Kim Hotstart (both 7-3). In Division II, BNSF (8-0-2) and Legends (7-2-1) had the best records.

McCoy’s Pitching Staff in 10U also was unbeaten in 10 games. Greenacres Gypsum (8-2) and Farrell’s Spray Service (7-3) were other top teams.

Painted Hills President’s Cup

Second round of the Painted Hills Ladies League President’s Cup was contested this past week.

Leading in A flight with low gross was Betty Grassl at 45. Sue Greany had a net 32.

B flight winners were Marisa Mackin with low gross 46 and Sammie Fletcher with Net 31.

C flight went to Carol Grebe with low gross 55 and Kathy Walker with net 33.

In D Flight Emma Long shot 59 and Teresa Whittall netted 31.

There were three birdies, by Linda Garves on the second hole, Beth Zehm and Elaine Lukes, both on No. 4. Judee Fowler had a chip-in on No. 8.

Eclectic round complete

Liberty Lake Women’s 18 Hole Golf Club completed the final round of its eclectic tournament.

The team of Kathy Brown, Honey Conlon, Idell Jenicek and Cathy Ramm tied for first at net 53 with Caryn McComas, Elsa Metting, Judy Stroup and Maggie Steffy.

One stroke behind at 54 were Patsy Lynn, Carol Schultz, Marie Nelson and Sue Meyer.

Finishing with 55 were Jeanne Allemand, Leslie Dunbar, Ramm and Frances Martin.

Jacobs leads Trailhead

Joyce Jacobs took her turn atop the weekly Trailhead Ladies Golf Club A flight competition.

Jacobs shot a low gross 47 for the best score of the week. Mary Ann Evans shot 53 in B flight, Joy Russell shot 50 in C and Linda Michielli shot 69 to win the no-handicap division.

Net winners were Marcia Rowley with 33 in A flight, Iness Walth shot 34 in B and Peg Nadvornick had a 30 in C.

Nine hole golf winners

Winners of weekly Liberty Lake Ladies Nine Hole Golf Club included three close scores.

Janis Smith, in first flight, won with 57. Frances Martin and Sadie Rueckert tied in second flight with 59. Third flight leader was Wilma Capaul with 67 and no-handicap was won by Freda Bergt with 73.

There were two net leaders, Mary Ann Barham with 35 in second flight and Ethel Rankin with 40 in third.