Local baseball teams struggle at Wood Bat Classic

Published 12:41 pm Monday, July 5, 2021

SPOKANE — Hodgen Distributing and the Pepsi Diamondjaxx had a tough go of things July 2-3 at the Wood Bat Classic that played games in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Hodgen finished the tournament 0-4, while the Diamondjaxx were 1-3.

In their opening game against the Expos Blue on July 2, Hodgen fell 4-0 as the Blue limited them to just three hits — singles by Collin Primus, Karson Lani and Andrew Demianew.

Lani pitched a gem against the Spokane Bandits, striking out 13, but two runs in the bottom of the third helped the Bandits rally for a 3-2 win.

On July 3, Legends Baseball handed Hodgen a 7-1 loss. Legends took an early 3-1 lead in the second inning, then secured the win with a four-run seventh inning.

Ben Hubbard had two hits and an RBI for Hodgen, while Blane Peal hit a double and scored the team’s lone run.

Hodgens dropped its final game to the Coeur d’Alene Lumbermen 10-1. Ryan Schneider pitched a complete game two-hitter and struck out seven for the Lumbermen, while Jackson Scherr hit a solo home run in the fourth inning.

Demianew had both of Hodgen’s hits, while Primus scored the lone run.

The Pepsi Diamondjaxx posted their lone win over Gonzaga Prep 14-5 on Saturday, July 3.

Dylan Gomez pitched a complete game and drove in two runs for Pepsi, while Nolan Enright and Cooper Simmons each drove in two runs.

Earlier Saturday, the Diamondjaxx dropped an 18-0 game to the Yakima Valley Peppers. The Peppers’ Isaac Froula no-hit the Diamondjaxx, striking out six.

The Diamondjaxx opened the tournament July 2 with a 12-1 loss to the Claremont Cardinals, who held them to just two hits — by Gavin Lunny and Owen Clark.

Pepsi then followed with a 10-5 loss to West Valley Spokane, despite out hitting its opponent 5-4.

Clark and Enright each hit a double for the Diamondjaxx, while Clark had two hits and drove in a run.

Marketplace