COEUR D'ALENE THIRD

They were tired and they lost, but they are proud of their effort. That's how Coeur d'Alene's Alliance Title coach Tracey Turrell summed up his Allies' third-place finish in the Idaho State AA Legion Baseball Tournament in Lewiston.

After winning two games Monday to advance into the semifinals, the Allies put a scare into the Lewis-Clark Twins before falling 10-8 Tuesday at Harris Field.

In the nightcap, the Boise Gems won the state title by defeating the Twins 15-4 in a game called in the seventh inning because of the 10-run rule. Boise advances to the regional tournament in Klamath Falls, Ore.

Trailing 10-0 in the seventh innning and facing elimination themselves, the Allies rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh and added five more in the eighth. But a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth put an end to their bid to reach the championship game.

"We put a definite scare into that Lewiston team," Turrell said.

The Allies were shut out in the opening tourney game Saturday by the Upper Valley Bulldogs of Rexburg, but they came through the losers bracket to eliminate the Prairie Cardinals on Sunday, the Twin Falls Cowboys Monday morning and the Caldwell Silver Streaks late Monday night.

Turrell let his team sleep in until noon Tuesday in hopes of adding some needed rest, but he knew when the Allies took to the field Tuesday the usual energy was lacking.

"We were flat-out exhausted," he said.

While the Twins were consistently adding runs from the second through the seventh innings, the Allies were held to just three hits for more than six innings.

Then in the seventh with two outs, the bats of the Allies came alive. Singles by Ryan Holland and Brad Ross were capped by a three- run homer by Kory Wilson. and the Allies averted an abbreviated game.

Allies shut down the Twins in the eighth, the first time since the first inning, and then responded with a five-run eighth inning on three hits, two walks and two errors.

"We had to earn all of our runs, and we needed them all," said Lewis-Clark coach Kevin Matthews.

Lewis-Clark pitcher Brad Harding gave the Allies a difficult time and forced numerous ground balls, three of which were turned into double plays.

"This probably was his greatest game," Matthews said.

Tom Wilson tossed the final inning for the Twins.

Besides a home run, Kory Wilson also hit a double. Other Allies getting two hits were Sean Moglia, Kirk Gosch and Ryan Holland. In all, the Allies had 10 hits compared to 14 by the Twins.

Brad Gore started on the mound for the Allies and was relieved by Blake Whiteman in the third. Matt Brown came in to pitch in the fourth and Holland pitched the final two innings.

Leading the Twins in hitting were Jack Maurer with four hits, including one double, and Derek Bruce with three hits. Ryan Clark got two hits, including a triple, and Nate Martin also had two hits.

Washington Legion

The Spokane Valley Cannons started making noise in July.

The Spokane North Stars promise to locate their direction again.

Both teams are at home this week for the State Senior American Legion baseball tournament. The eight-team tourney, in Spokane for the first time since 1990, opens at 9:30 this morning at Shadle Park's Jackson Field.

The Cannons are the host team, with the No. 1 seed, after defeating the North Stars 6-4 in 11 innings in last Saturday's district championship.

The league season belonged to the North Stars, whose 15-4 record was glowing next to the Cannons' 9-10.

"From the midseason on, we were picked to win," said North Stars coach Kevin Workman. "Then we had a week off (during playoffs). On paper, we still have the same team. We should be stronger because we've had some time off."

The North Stars open at approximately 12:30 p.m. against the Kennewick Dusters. The Cannons draw the Skagit Sox of Burlington at about 7:30 p.m.

Today's other openers at the double-elimination tourney are Centralia Fullers Market Place vs. Kirkland Pepsi, 9:30 a.m.; and Vancouver Cardinals vs. Food Giant of Bellevue, 4 p.m.

The tourney runs through Sunday, with all games at Jackson.

Copyright 1999 Cowles Publishing Company
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