A five-run fourth inning helped the Three Rivers Sandblasters top Richey's Market of Corvallis 10-7 in the team's opening game at the American Legion Zone 3 tournament in Albany on Thursday.

Three Rivers meets Salem Post 9 at 7:30 p.m. today. A win would put the Sandblasters in the championship series starting Saturday night, while a loss would mean a 1 p.m. game Saturday.

Richey's Market, the only team in the district to take the season series from the Sandblasters, scored four runs in the first inning Thursday. But that was it until the eighth, and by then Three Rivers had an 8-4 lead.

Collin McClaughry, who pitched seven strong innings, got the victory for the Sandblasters. David Deutschman and Scott Buche finished the game in relief the final two innings.

Deutschman also had three hits for Three Rivers, including a double. Shane Rose had three hits and three RBIs, while Travis Anderson had two hits, including a two-run homer.

Justin Bond and Cole Skriver each also had two hits for Three Rivers.

Earlier in the day Thursday, Corvallis sent 19 batters to the plate in the seventh inning, including 12 who had hits, as Richey's Market pulled away from the Mid-Valley Rockets of Albany for a 23-8 win. Richey's Market led just 10-8 before the big inning. Nick Erving had a home run for Albany in the loss.

In the first game of the tournament, Post 9 beat the Springfield Titans 9-0. Ryan Smith pitched eight innings and R.J. Phillips finished the shutout for Post 9.

Post 9 then topped Withnell Dodge of Salem 13-8 in the evening. Jackson Wilde had four hits and Chad Fahey had a home run for Post 9. Robbie Jackson had four hits and three runs in the losing effort.

In today's loser's bracket games, Albany and Withnell Dodge meet at 10 a.m., while Springfield and Corvallis meet at 1:30 p.m. The winners of those games play at 4:30 p.m. to see which team joins Three Rivers and Post 9 in the playoffs between Zone 3 and Zone 4 next week. The top team from Zone 3 meets the No. 3 team from Zone 4 in a best two-games-out-of-three series, while the No. 2 seeds from the zones play each other and the No. 1 team from Zone 4 meets the No. 3 team from Zone 3.

Because Three Rivers won the regular-season title, the Sandblasters are assured at least the No. 2 seed for the league, which means home-field advantage next week.

Three Rivers 10, Corvallis 7

Corvallis 400 000 021 - 7 6 2

Three Rivers 002 501 02x - 10 16 3

Thomas McCarthy, Matt Aulerich (4), Eric Evenson (6) and Carlos Munoz; Collin McClaughry, David Deutschman (8), Scott Buche (9) and Travis Anderson. 2B-TR: Deutschman. HR-TR: Anderson.