SPOKANE – Three former Snohomish County high school baseball standouts helped the Wenatchee AppleSox repeat as champions of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League.
Lake Stevens High School graduate Matt Fields, who attends Gonzaga University, allowed just six hits and carried a shutout into the eighth inning en route to earning the win in the AppleSox’s title-clinching 7-2 victory over the Spokane RiverHawks on Aug. 11.
In the first game of the best-of-three championship series, Marysville-Pilchuck alum Nick Haughian, who pitches for the University of Washington, earned the save as Wenatchee downed Spokane 4-3. Blaine Hardy, an Edmonds-Woodway graduate who attends the University of Portland, started the game but did not get a decision. He left in the seventh inning with the score tied 3-3.
The AppleSox are now 4-0 in championship-series play after recording a two-game sweep of the Bellingham Belles to win the title in 2005, the WCCBL’s inaugural season.
Fields, who finished the season with a 5-2 record and a 1.92 earned run average, garnered Player of the Week honors for the second time and was named to the All-WCCBL second team.
Haughian received honorable mention after recording nine saves in the regular season, breaking the previous WCCBL mark of five. He had a 1-1 record with a 2.15 ERA over 282/3 innings of work in 17 games, all in relief.
Hardy started six games and finished the regular season 4-3 with a 1.60 ERA and two saves in 502/3 innings.
Also named to the All-WCCBL second team was Lakewood graduate Jake Rife, who attends the University of Washington. Rife played outfield and batted .292 with 13 RBI and 14 stolen bases for the Bend Elks.
The WCCBL is a summer wood-bat league for college-eligible athletes based in the Pacific Northwest.
Rally falls short for Seattle Stars: The Seattle Stars 14-U baseball team rallied from a 6-0 deficit before falling 10-5 to the Puerto Rico Portos in the championship game of the American Amateur Baseball Congress Sandy Koufax World Series on July 30 in Douglasville, Ga.
The Shoreline-based Seattle Stars represented the AABC Western Region in the eight-team World Series. The Stars advanced by winning the regional tournament held July 13-16 at Meadowdale High School.
At the national tournament, the Stars finished 3-1 in the preliminary round and advanced to the title game with a 7-6, come-from-behind victory – scoring five runs in their final at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning – over the Fayette County (Ga.) Bulldogs.
The members of the Seattle Stars included Andy Abadam (Marysville), Chris Larson (Marysville), Kennedy Kinkade (Everett), Peter Oh (Everett), Chris Guinn (Lynnwood), Tanner May (Snohomish), Joey Parker (Shoreline), Chris Johnson (Edmonds), Blaine Liukko (Edmonds), Andy Willcock (Edmonds), Connor Madden (Edmonds), Luke Taylor (Woodinville), Alex Bielaski (Bellevue), and Robby Ryan (Kirkland).
Jeff Carlson was the head coach. He was assisted by pitching coach Andrew Neisinger and manager Dave Parker.
Ultimate
Monroe youths compete at national tournament: Four Monroe High School students played for Seattle Youth Club teams that competed recently at the 2006 Ultimate Players Association Youth Club Championships in Blaine, Minn.
Sabrina Duenas helped the girls team earn a second consecutive national title on Aug. 6 with a 13-4 victory over a team from Denver.
The Seattle Youth Club girls team finished 4-0 in pool play – outscoring its opponents 55-9 – and beat a team from Minnesota 15-2 in the semifinals to advance to the title match.
The boys team, with Emmanuel Jimenez, defeated Pittsburgh 15-3 on Aug. 6 to finish in third place. The boys were 4-1 in pool play and defeated Minnesota 12-9 in the quarterfinals before losing 12-10 to Denver in the semifinals.
Ryan Mathis and Hugo Rojas helped the mixed squad to a fifth-place finish.
Ultimate is played with two seven-player teams, each trying to advance a Frisbee-like disc past the goal line of the other team by throwing it from player to player without dropping it. Players may not move while they have the disc and have 10 seconds to throw it. Defensive players try to intercept or force a drop, but they may not touch each other.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
