Northstars win 4th of July Wood Bat Classic

The Spokane Northstars scored six runs in the sixth inning to break a tie and defeat Bellingham Post 7 11-5 in the championship game of the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene 4th of July Legion Wood Bat Classic on Sunday at Al K. Jackson Field in Spokane.

The Northstars racked up 12 hits with three from Zach Day and two each from Daniel Munoz, Jake Leavey and Nick Cain. They also took advantage of seven Bellingham errors in scoring nine unearned runs. Leavey had the Northstars’ only extra-base hit, a triple. Munoz and Cain both drove in two runs.

Tanner Conroy picked up the complete-game victory, giving up nine hits and five earned runs while walking five and striking out two.

David Yoppini scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Northstars a 4-3 victory over the Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen in a semifinal earlier Sunday. Bellingham defeated the Spokane Bandits 10-6 in the other semifinal.

At Ramsey Field in Coeur d’Alene, Eastlake Baseball defeated the Red Bluff Bulls 2-0 to take the junior division championship. Red Bluff defeated the Spokane Crew 3-2 and Eastlake beat the Mt. Spokane Wild 16-10 in Sunday’s semifinals.

The annual four-day tournament included 78 teams playing at 15 venues.