Flames open state Legion tournament with comeback win

The Hanford Flames baseball team made comebacks an art at last year’s American Legion state tournament.

They haven’t changed a bit in a year, it seems, after a 10-6 come-from-behind win over the Spokane Bandits on Saturday at the state tournament at Wheeler Field in Centralia.

The Flames trailed 3-0 after three innings, 4-0 after four innings and 6-5 heading into the top of the ninth. But they scored five runs, including a big hit-and-run single by Tanner Heiman to key the rally and take a commanding lead.

“Typical Flames fashion. The guys have that feeling again,” Hanford coach Nat Roe said. “We’ve been here before, so we really didn’t panic.”

Brady Heid had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two runs and three RBIs. Isaac Benard also had three hits and two RBIs for the Flames, which will play Central Sobe/Toyota at 6 p.m. today in the championship quarterfinals.

“We’re Hanford, so we knew we were going to score some runs,” Roe said. “The guys exploded like I thought they would.”

The Kennewick Bandits also won their first game, crushing Mason 14-0 thanks to home runs from Dillon Plew, Colton Plew and Larry DeWitt. Clayten Ayres pitched five scoreless innings and drove in three runs on two hits.

The Bandits will face Bellingham Post 7 at 3 p.m. in the championship quarterfinals.

Mason 000 000 0 — 0 7 0Kennewick 210 371 x — 14 16 0Jump, Shelton (4), Stutesman (5), Edwards (6) and Skinner; Clayten Ayers, Nate Newbry (6) and Dylan Wilbert. Highlights—Kennewick: Steven Sordahl 2R; Wilbert 2R, RBI; Austin Morfin 3x5, 2B, 3R, 2 RBI; Ayers 2x3, 2B, 3 RBI, 5 IP, 4Ks; Dillon Plew 2x4, HR, 2 RBI; Colton Plew HR, RBI, 2R; Quentin Lafontaine 3x4; Larry DeWitt 2x3, HR, RBI, 2R. Mason: Skinner 2x3; Logan 2B.Hanford 000 002 125 — 10 13 6Spokane 003 102 0 — 6 10 2Jacob Anderson, Tanner Heiman (8), Logan (9) and Miles; Pate, Smith (8), Davis (9) and Hojnacki. Highlights—Hanford: Brady Heid 3x5, 2 2B, 2R, 3 RBI; Isaac Benard 3x5, 2 RBI; Colson 2B, 2R; Aaron Enderlin 2B, R; Tanner Heiman 2R, SB; Anthony Porcaro 2x4, RBI; Jon Miles 2x5, 2R, RBI. Spokane: Hare 3x4, 2R, RBI; McClary 2 RBI; Machtolf 2B, RBI.Other scores: Bellingham Post 7 7, Apple Valley Packers 6 (11 innings); Centralia 4, Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak 1.

AA: The Kennewick Dusters won their first state game at the AA Legion state tourney in Spokane, topping Capital 14-3 in the Whitworth University bracket. The Dusters were led by Mikey Jones, who homered and drove in three runs, and Cory Dearing, who scored three times and drove in two more runs.

The Dusters will face FM Sports at 5:30 p.m. today in the championship quarterfinals.

The Southridge Bandits weren’t as fortunate, however, as they lost 5-2 to Chehalis, which piled up 10 hits and took advantage of run-scoring opportunities.

“They got the leadoff hitter on base several times, and they found a way to get him across,” Bandits coach Tim Sanders said. “They kept the pressure on us, but we’re still alive. We get to play (today).”

Southridge will take on Mt. Vernon at 1 p.m. today at A.K. Jackson Field in Spokane.

Dusters 413 130 2 — 14 16 0Capital 010 200 0 — 3 11 5WP—Kaden Enriquez. LP—Tallman. Highlights—Kennewick: Cory Dearing 2x3, 2B, 3R, 2 RBI, 2 SB; Tyson Patten 3x4, 2R, 2 RBI; Noah Garrard 2x4, RBI, R; Mikey Jones HR, 2R, 3 RBI; Cory Schouviller 2x3, 2R, RBI, 2 SB; Blake Marboe 2B; Enriquez, 2B, 2 RBI; Ryan Dearing 2x3, 2 SB; Capital: Strachan 3x3, 2 RBI; Cusack 2x3, 2 R.Chehalis 101 030 0 — 5 10 2Southridge 200 000 0 — 2 3 2Dustin Yanter, John Dobbyns (5) and Johnathan Davis; Bradley Morgan, Chad Crider (5) and Jake Kirchoff. Highlights—Southridge: Kyle Harvey R; Bryce Grigg R. Chehalis: Brady Holcomb 3x4, 3R.Other scores: Yakima Valley Peppers 9, Montesano 1; Anacortes 4, Mead 3; Centralia 8, Round Table 2; Gonzaga Prep 7, Mount Vernon 3 (14).

A: The Kennewick Bandits and Kennewick Dusters each showed how strong the CWL is, each posting convincing wins in the first round of the A Legion state tournament at Sherman Anderson Park in Mount Vernon.

The Bandits defeated Central Valley 9-3, thanks to a seven-run fourth inning that put them up 9-0. The Bandits will face FM Sports at 3 p.m. today in the championship quarterfinals.

The Dusters were equally impressive in a 10-0 shutout of Aberdeen, as Hunter Mulderig went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and Asher Mancinelli held Aberdeen to just three hits in a complete-game win.

The Dusters will play Bellingham Post 7 at 5:30 p.m. today in the championship quarterfinals.

Central Valley 000 200 1 — 3 9 4Kennewick 101 700 0 — 9 9 4Lovins and Pichette; Sergio Midili and Lane Hailey. Highlights—CV: Stocker 3x4; Gerlach 2B. Kennewick: Jake Harvey 3B, R; Hailey 2x3, 2B, 2 RBI; Mason Martin 3B, 3 RBI, SB; Cavet Christ 2B, 3 RBI; Midili CG, 2K, 2BB.Aberdeen 000 000 0 — 0 3 3Kennewick 002 332 x — 10 10 0Larson and Bowley; Asher Mancinelli and Jayvee Selda. Highlights—Kennewick: Cooper Ellison 2B, 2R; Jethro Questad 2x4, 3R; Hunter Mulderig 3x3, 3 RBI; Tyler Lloyd RBI; Kohlter Trimble 2x3, RBI; Zach Avery RBI; Drake Ofthsun R; Mancinelli CG, 3K. Aberdeen: Larson CG, 4K, 7 BB.Other scores: FM Sports 4, North Kitsap Vikings 2; Bellingham 9, Prairie 3.

Cal Ripken 12s 70-foot: Kennewick National started the day with a 16-0 win over Helena (Mont.) in the Cal Ripken 12s 70-foot Pacific Northwest Regional tournament in Meridian, Idaho. Gavin Ayers hit a home run, and Taz Milton had a two-run single to boost the offense and also tossed a complete game.

Kennewick lost the championship, however, 7-5 to Meridian, who will head to the Cal Ripken World Series in Maryland. Kobe Dumo blasted a three-run homer and Nick Lindholm added a solo shot, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an early lead by Meridian.

Cal Ripken 12s 60 feet: Kennewick American finished 2-2 at the Cal Ripken Pacific Northwest Regional tournament in Kalispell, Mont., splitting a pair of games Thursday and Friday.

Kennewick finished third in its pool and did not reach the championship bracket.

Kennewick American started out Friday with a 16-1 win over Glasgow (Mont.) as Richie Lane and Logan Hall both homered to highlight a 16-hit attack. But KA dropped their next game 12-11 to Kalispell despite four hits and two RBIs from Bryce Ford.

On Thursday, KA crushed Whitefish 11-1 in its first game, getting two RBIs from Hall before taking a 5-3 loss to Lower Columbia (Ore.).

Port Angeles went on to win the title with a 9-3 win over Caldwell (Idaho).

Late FridayGlasgow (Mont.) 010 0 — 1 2 1Kennewick American 475 x — 16 15 1Mieskens, Price (2), Idler (3) and Myrick; Johnson, Hall (4) and Hall, Johnson (4). Highlights—KA: Andrew Johnson 3x3, 2B; Trace Hendrickson 2x3; Richie Lane 2x3; HR, 4 RBI; Logan Hall 2x3, HR, 2 RBI; Nate Wilson 2x3, 2 2B, 2 RBI.Kalispell (Mont.) 140 403 — 12 12 0Kennewick American 330 005 — 11 13 8Quackenberg, Dalton (6), Telsek (6) and Wessell; Trace Hendrickson, Privett (3) Johnson (5) and Johnson, Hall (5). Highlights—KA: Bryce Ford 4x4, 2B, 2 RBI; Trace Hendrickson 2x3, 2B, 3 RBI, Tanner Hendrickson 2x3, 2B, 2 RBI; Logan Hall HR.Late ThursdayWhitefish 000 1 — 1 2 1Kennewick American 333 2 — 11 11 2Beale, Queen (3) and Carklin; Johnson, Hall (4) and Hall, Johnson (4). Highlights—KA: Nate Wilson 2x2, 2B, 2RBI; Gabe Gier 2x3; Logan Hall 2 RBI, Tanner Hendrickson 2 RBI.Lower Columbia (Ore.) 011 030 — 5 7 2Kennewick American 003 000 — 3 8 3Eli, Rynland (4) and Johnson; Trace Hendrickson, Simanton (5), Privett (5) and Johnson. Highlights—KA: Andrew Johnson 2x3, Tanner Hendrickson 2 RBI.

Cal Ripken 11s: Caleb Stevenson drove in four runs and was one of three Kennewick American players — Bodie Mamiya and Jack Sanders were the others — with home runs as KA beat tournament host Meridian (Idaho) 17-7 to earn a spot in the championship.

But Kennewick fell 6-4 to West Linn (Northern Oregon) for the title.

This story was originally published July 26, 2014 at 11:19 PM with the headline "Flames open state Legion tournament with comeback win."