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Sandblasters finish league play with win at Springfield
By Staff Reports
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 | No comments posted.
The Three Rivers Sandblasters secured at least a tie for second place in the final Zone 3 standings by beating host Springfield 8-4 in an American Legion baseball game on Monday.
With their fifth win in six league games, the Sandblasters finished 9-6 in Zone 3. They open the playoffs Thursday against Withnell Dodge, though the site of the game won’t be determined until tonight, when the Salem club meets Albany.
If the Rockets win tonight, Withnell Dodge will finish 8-7, in third place, and play at Florence on Thursday. The Dodgers will host Thursday’s game if they win tonight, by virtue of winning the season series against the Sandblasters.
Three Rivers capped a strong league season with Monday’s win.
“It was good to see how far we have come since league started,” said Three Rivers coach Alex Morales. “The first time we faced Springfield, we allowed them to control the game. Today, at the plate we had a game plan, bought into it, and stuck to it. Defensively, we played well.
“I am pretty proud of what we’ve been able to do so far, especially considering we lost six of nine starters from last year’s squad.”
Three Rivers won the league title in 2007 with a 10-5 league record, just one game better than this season.
“That says a lot about how hard these guys have worked this summer,” Morales said. “Anything can happen in the playoffs. We are happy to be in, but we are not content to just make it. Our goal is to be playing beyond this week, and that means we need to continue working hard and getting better each day.”
Three Rivers won Monday by scoring four runs in the seventh inning to take the lead and then handing the ball to Travis Iverson. The Newport graduate pitched the final three innings and did not allow a baserunner, striking out four batters.
Kale Forrester, Chase Meister and Willie Grader pitched the first six innings, giving up four runs and eight hits between them.
Offensively, Tyler Mais went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs for the Sandblasters. Rye Espinosa was 2-for-2, walked twice and was hit by a pitch, reaching base five times. He scored one of the runs.
Cole Skriver went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored and Alex Clark and Bryce Weidman had two hits each. Weidman scored twice, while Clark had a run and an RBI.
Cody Garner had three hits for Springfield, which was eliminated from the Zone 3 playoffs with the loss. Springfield finished 6-9, while Salem Post 9 beat Albany to clinch fourth place at 7-8. Richey’s Market of Corvallis beat Withnell Dodge 7-4 to secure first place at 11-4.
Three Rivers hosts Eugene in a nonleague game today and then plays a charity game against the Dusters on Wednesday to support Western Lane Baseball.
Three Rivers 8, Springfield 4
Three Rivers 100 111 400 — 8 14 0
Springfield 002 011 000 — 4 8 0
Kale Forrester, Chase Meister (4), Willie Grader (6), Travis Iverson (7) and Ethan Ottemiller; Wood, Price (7) and Spencer. 2B—TR: Tyler Mais, Cole Skriver, Rye Espinosa; Spr: Calef, Chapman.
With their fifth win in six league games, the Sandblasters finished 9-6 in Zone 3. They open the playoffs Thursday against Withnell Dodge, though the site of the game won’t be determined until tonight, when the Salem club meets Albany.
If the Rockets win tonight, Withnell Dodge will finish 8-7, in third place, and play at Florence on Thursday. The Dodgers will host Thursday’s game if they win tonight, by virtue of winning the season series against the Sandblasters.
Three Rivers capped a strong league season with Monday’s win.
“It was good to see how far we have come since league started,” said Three Rivers coach Alex Morales. “The first time we faced Springfield, we allowed them to control the game. Today, at the plate we had a game plan, bought into it, and stuck to it. Defensively, we played well.
“I am pretty proud of what we’ve been able to do so far, especially considering we lost six of nine starters from last year’s squad.”
Three Rivers won the league title in 2007 with a 10-5 league record, just one game better than this season.
“That says a lot about how hard these guys have worked this summer,” Morales said. “Anything can happen in the playoffs. We are happy to be in, but we are not content to just make it. Our goal is to be playing beyond this week, and that means we need to continue working hard and getting better each day.”
Three Rivers won Monday by scoring four runs in the seventh inning to take the lead and then handing the ball to Travis Iverson. The Newport graduate pitched the final three innings and did not allow a baserunner, striking out four batters.
Kale Forrester, Chase Meister and Willie Grader pitched the first six innings, giving up four runs and eight hits between them.
Offensively, Tyler Mais went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs for the Sandblasters. Rye Espinosa was 2-for-2, walked twice and was hit by a pitch, reaching base five times. He scored one of the runs.
Cole Skriver went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored and Alex Clark and Bryce Weidman had two hits each. Weidman scored twice, while Clark had a run and an RBI.
Cody Garner had three hits for Springfield, which was eliminated from the Zone 3 playoffs with the loss. Springfield finished 6-9, while Salem Post 9 beat Albany to clinch fourth place at 7-8. Richey’s Market of Corvallis beat Withnell Dodge 7-4 to secure first place at 11-4.
Three Rivers hosts Eugene in a nonleague game today and then plays a charity game against the Dusters on Wednesday to support Western Lane Baseball.
Three Rivers 8, Springfield 4
Three Rivers 100 111 400 — 8 14 0
Springfield 002 011 000 — 4 8 0
Kale Forrester, Chase Meister (4), Willie Grader (6), Travis Iverson (7) and Ethan Ottemiller; Wood, Price (7) and Spencer. 2B—TR: Tyler Mais, Cole Skriver, Rye Espinosa; Spr: Calef, Chapman.
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