Wood Bat Classic draws record field
A record number of teams will participate in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene Senior and Junior Wood Bat Classic baseball tournaments Friday through Monday.
A field of 27 teams will be in the Senior tournament and 40 teams will be in the Junior tournament.
Tournament director Mike Padden believes he knows why entries are at an all-time high, at least in the Senior tournament.
“Teams are coming up to case the joint,” Padden said of Spokane playing host to the Northwest Regional (Aug. 5-9) and the World Series (Aug. 13-17).
Six fields are being used for the Seniors. They are Whitworth University, Ferris, Al K. Jackson (Shadle Park), Hart Field and McEuen Field and Coeur d’Alene High in CdA. The Spokane Blue Devils are the defending champ in the Seniors tourney. A Spokane team has won the title the last three years.
The tourney is full of contenders, Padden said. Teams to watch include the Twin City Titans of Richland, World Series runner-up two years ago; Cheyenne, the Wyoming state champ that placed third at the Northwest Regional last year; Chino (Calif.) Red; Great Falls (Mont.) Chargers; Kennewick Bandits; Boise Barons; and Pride Baseball out of Bothell, which won the Junior title a year ago.
The championship game will be Monday at Gonzaga University’s Patterson Field at 1:30 p.m.
•The Junior tourney will be played at West Valley, Central Valley, Coeur d’Alene, Lake City, Cheney, Medical Lake, Gonzaga Prep and Mt. Spokane. The title game will be Monday at McEuen Field in CdA at 2.
Legion highlights
The Spokane Blue Devils went 5-3 and finished second at the Palouse Summer Series last weekend.
The Blue Devils fell to Combat of Olympia/Lacy 12-6 in the championship. Kasey Sargent of Shadle Park had 10 hits in five games and Tyler Pfeffer, also of Shadle, had seven hits including a homer and three doubles.
In the Blue Devils’ semifinal win, Brenden Herzer of Lakeside pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning to earn a save against Rips Brewers of Auburn.
•The Washington State Baseball Coaches Association has released their 2010 All-State Teams.
Named to the first teams from the region were: Jake Schrader of Mead in 4A, Nate Blackham of Mt. Spokane in 3A and Mitch Peterson of West Valley and Nick Rimmelspacher of Clarkston in 2A.
Named to the second teams from the region were: Scott Simon of Central Valley and David Borgman of CV in 4A, Tyler Pfeffer of Shadle Park in 3A and Brendon Herzer of Lakeside and Justin Altmyer of Freeman in A/B.