Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009

Bandits win regional Jr. Legion title

By the Herald staff

KEARNS, Utah -- In what could be a good omen for Southridge High's 2010 baseball season, the Kennewick Bandits were crowned regional champions Tuesday night at the Pacific Northwest AA (Junior) American Legion tournament in Kearns, Utah.

The Bandits swept the day with a 6-4 win over Powell, Wyo., in the semifinal and held off Laurel, Mont., 7-6 in the title game.

In the championship game, Brock Marston threw seven innings and turned the game over to Brian Bowe with a 7-4 lead in the eighth.

Kennewick went scoreless in the top of the ninth, ans Montana came alive to squeeze out two runs and turn the final inning into a true nail-biter.

"Brian (Bowe) came in and he's the guy that shut them down in the end," said Kennewick coach Dave Price.

"We played like a family," said Bowe, who will be a senior at Southridge. "We were down a couple of runs in the championship, but in the back of my mind I knew we were going to pull through for the win."

Montana broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third with a three-run homer, and remained in the lead until the Bandits' five-run rally in the top of the fifth.

Montana answered with one run in the bottom of fifth, and Kennewick drove home its final two runs in the eighth to take the lead for good.

Bryce Jackson was steady on the mound over the first seven innings in the semifinals -- until the tournament 12-inning pitching limit kicked in.

"I just kept it the way I've been doing all year," said Jackson, who will be a junior at Southridge. I was throwing the ball for strikes, using my defense and it worked."

Price said. "I countered with Adam Sanders. He struggled, I went right to (Julian) Rojas and (Ty) Jackson came in and closed the door."

Semifinal: Bandits 6, Wyoming 4

Kennewick 105 000 000 -- 6 6 2

Powell 000 000 031 -- 4 3 1

Bryce Jackson, Adam Sanders (8), Julian Rojas (9), Ty Jackson (9 and Dallas Jones; Dahlgren and Carter. Highlights--Matt Mendenhall (K) 2x4, 2B.

Championship: Bandits 7, Montana 6

Kennewick 000 050 020 -- 7 11 1

Laurel 003 010 002 -- 6 10 2

Brock Marston, Brian Bowe (8) and Jones; Dylan Borshans, Jordan Wilson (6) and Sam Faust. Highlights--Mike Tsoukalas (K) 2x5, 2B; Mendenhall (K) 2x5; Mike McAdie (K) 2x4; Jackson (K) 2x5.