Jarek Cunningham has big rookie year
Jarek Cunningham’s first season of professional baseball would have to be considered a resounding success.
The 2008 graduate of Mt. Spokane, taken in the 18th round of the June draft by Pittsburgh, was named the best newcomer in the Pirates’ organization by an Internet blog that calls itself “the base of operations for anything Pittsburgh Pirates,” following his rookie season in Gulf Coast League.
“… There was a lot of stiff competition for this one, but no one seemed to make a bigger splash in their debut than did Jarek Cunningham,” it said.
In 48 games for the rookie league team, Cunningham, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound third baseman-shortstop, hit .336 with six home runs and 27 RBIs with a .540 slugging percentage. His performance also gained him a spot on Baseball America’s Top 20 Prospects in the Gulf Coast League.
Bowling
Consistency paid dividends for Thomas Locke as he won the North Bowl stop of the Junior Bowlers Tour last Sunday.
Locke, who led the qualifying after the first four-game block but settled into third place for the five-man roll-off, beat Chris Gray and Jared Descoteaux to set up a finals match against top qualifier Tyler Engstrom, who rolled an 860 series en route to claiming the No. 1 spot. Locke beat him 235-162 for the title.
Descoteaux, who had the day’s top game, a 266, and put together a 900 four-game series to charge from 12th to qualify second, finished third. Gray was fourth and Joe Gilmour fifth.
Megan Froman had high game for the girls, a 191.
The next JBT is Oct. 19 in the Tri-Cities.
College scene
Marcus Budig of Mead, a freshman at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., has been the No. 1 runner for the Terriers’ men’s cross country team his first four races.
Job fair
The eighth annual Sports Career Seminar and Job Fair, put on by Spokane-based Brett Sports, will be Nov. 1 at the Spokane Arena.
Professional sports teams from the Northwest will be represented, interviewing for positions in marketing, sales, promotions, public relations and a variety of internships. In addition, there will be panel discussions and guest speakers.
Cost for the day-long event is $49, which includes lunch and a ticket to that night’s Spokane Chiefs hockey game.
Info or to register: Andy Billig, 324-4014, ext. 323, or www.spokaneindians baseball.com.
Table soccer
Kathy Brainard of the Spokane area had a first-place finish and a fourth at the World Championship Series Table Soccer (foosball) Tournament last weekend in Las Vegas.
Brainard and her partner won the women’s senior doubles title and she and another partner placed fourth in open mixed doubles.
Tennis
Spokane Racquet Club entries claimed two championships at the year’s largest junior tournament in the Northwest, the season-ending Junior Championship Sectional at the end of August in Yakima.
Maya Jansen, who attends Freeman High School, won girls 14 singles, and sisters Alex and Maddison Bourguignon, who are home-schooled, won the girls 12 doubles title. Alex also reached the finals and Maddison the semifinals in girls 12 singles.
Maya and Lea Jansen reached the semifinals of girls 16 doubles and Lea reached the semifinals of girls 16 singles.
William Hough reached the quarterfinals of boys 14 singles and Nicholas Cable the semifinals of boys 12 singles after knocking off the 29th-ranked player in the age division in the country in the quarterfinals. Hough and Cable are SRC players who attend Royal Oaks Christian.
•The Spokane Athletic Club team had a 1-3 record and tied for fourth in its flight at the USTA League 4.0 Women’s Adult National Championships last weekend in Tucson, Ariz.