Wildcats pull away from Indians
The baseball had eyes on Tuesday and Mt. Spokane saw fit to make the most of them.
Benefiting from four fortuitously placed fifth-inning hits, the Wildcats (8-9) scored five times for a 6-1 Greater Spokane League victory over visiting North Central (5-10).
The win put Mt. Spokane up by three games in the win column over NC in a matchup of 3A teams vying for the top seed in the postseason.
Ryne Leonard opened the fateful inning with a double just inside the third base line. Evan Poynor followed by beating out a no-man’s-land bunt.
Nate Blackham yanked his second extra base hit of the day over first base to drive in one run and pinch-hitter Matt Brenner blooped one into short centerfield for another.
Two errors and Jordon Poynor’s two-run double later and the Wildcats had a cushion.
“I think that’s been the story of our season a little bit,” said Indians coach Scott Harmon, of Mt. Spokane’s seeing-eye inning. “We hit the ball really well, but right at people and have been snake-bitten one or two innings per game.”
NC had come out swinging with three first-inning hits, but no runs.
Mt. Spokane’s Blackham hit a long ball to right-center field for a triple in the bottom of the inning and scored on a hit by Nic Fowler.
“I’d been in a slump and was trying to get my hands to the ball quick,” said Blackham, a sophomore center fielder. “I saw the fastball early and jumped on it.”
Undeterred, Indians starting pitcher Nick Harris tripled to tie the game and pitched brilliantly preserving the tie until things unraveled.
“We kind of weathered the storm a bit and got it going,” said Mt. Spokane coach Alex Schuerman. “We found some holes, had a good bunt and hit one ball pretty hard and it turned out to be a good thing.”
Both coaches lauded the effort of Wildcats pitcher Jeremy Carey, who only allowed one hit – Evan Witt’s third of the game – and three base runners after the third inning.
“He’s a strike throwing machine,” said Schuerman. “All things considered I’m happy where we’re at.”
Elsewhere, the anticipated showdown between pitching stars Rusty Shellhorn from Central Valley and Andrew Kittredge of Ferris was as advertised. The Bears (8-7) scored in the sixth inning for a 1-0 win at Ferris (10-4). Shellhorn allowed two hits and struck out 15. Kittredge pitched a three-hitter fanning 10, but the Saxons committed three errors. … League-leading Mead (14-1) remained No. 1 on the hit parade with 14 in a 12-2 five-inning win over visiting Gonzaga Prep (8-7). Seth Peterson was 3 for 4 with three runs batted in and Tyler Thoreson was 3 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs. … University (13-2) kept pace 11-0 at Lewis and Clark (4-13). Billy Moon pitched a three-hitter and was 3 for 5 with a double, home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. … Shadle Park (5-10) moved into playoff contention with a 2-1 win over visiting East Valley (3-12). C.J. Stockman scored both runs, including the winner on Andrew McCanna‘s fifth-inning two-out hit.
Softball
Mead and University (both 12-3) tuned up for a Thursday second-place showdown at U-Hi.
The Panthers scored twice in the seventh to nail down a 6-3 win at Mt. Spokane (7-7). Tiffany Lookabill and Regin Gallagher were each 3 for 4 and scored twice. … The Titans blanked visiting Gonzaga Prep (4-9) 5-0 on Shelby Bethel‘s two-hitter aided by center fielder Alyssa Hawley. She made three diving extra-base robbing catches in the gaps. … Shadle Park’s (13-0) Sam Skillingstad pitched a five-inning perfect game at home, striking out 12 in a 14-0 win over Ferris (0-15). She also was 3 for 3 with three RBIs. … Central Valley (10-5) romped past visiting Rogers (3-12) 16-0. The Bears had 14 hits, Chrystal Holt 4 for 5 with a double and two-run homer. … Lewis and Clark (4-9) moved into a tie for sixth among 4A schools as Kendall Pavey blanked host East Valley 8-0.