Spokane Cannons new AAA home for West Plains' Legion players

Top West Plains’ players have a new team to call home for AAA American Legion Baseball in 2016, the Spokane Cannons.

Coached by former Medical Lake standout athlete and current head baseball coach at Freeman, Chad Ripke, the Cannons feature four local players, Riley Jones and Chance Gleave from Cheney along with Brayden Hale and Cory Wagner from Medical Lake. They are joined by players from University, Central Valley and Freeman.

In previous seasons, area players were with the Spokane Blue Devils, but that team disbanded after the 2015 season in hopes of providing Spokane teams with a better talent pool for state play.

The Cannons, 10-7 overall, enter play in a Tri Cities tournament this weekend after finishing 2-3 in a tournament in Missoula, June 10-12, and 2-3 in a tournament last week in Spokane.

Ripke did not have current statistics for local players but noted in an email that Gleave went 5 for 5 in his first five at bats in Missoula.

Hale pitched in the opening game against the Bitterroot Red Sox. He fell behind early 4-0 after the first, but “We fought back, then got down 9-3 going to the bottom of the seventh,” Ripke reported. “We tied it up sending it into extra innings and eventually won 10-9 in nine innings.”

Spokane played in the “Best of the Northwest” wood bat tournament last weekend, June 16-18 at Central Valley High School.

Hale got the start against the Spokane Dodgers in an 8-1 loss, but of the six runs charged to him only two were earned. “He threw the ball well, but we didn’t help him defensively,” Ripke said.

Gleave started against the Spokane Dodgers White team and got the complete game win, 4-3. “Chance did a great job competing on the mound for us,” Ripke said.

Finishing 2-2 in pool play, the Cannons beat Missoula 1-0, but lost to Apple Valley of Yakima, 4-3.

Spokane next faced Ridgeline of Boise and lost a tough one, Ripke said. “We led the whole game until the bottom of the seventh when they hit a two-run home run off Wagner to tie it.” Ridgeline got three more base hits to score the game’s winning run on a walk off hit in a 5-4 victory.

In Spokane league play the Cannons are 2-0, including a 5-1 win last week over the Northstars where Wagner earned the win. The Cannons met the Northeast 49ers yesterday (June 22) in a doubleheader and begin play in Tri Cities tonight, June 23 versus Northern Lakes in Kennewick at 7 p.m.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.