For Cheney’s AA American Legion baseball team, last Tuesday’s rematch with Ferris boiled down to different results, same outcome as their June 24 game.
The Summerhawks managed to get on the board against the home-field Saxons, but couldn’t quite get into the win column, losing 4-3 in Ferris’ final at bat. Tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, the Saxons managed a leadoff double, stole third and scored the winning run on a slow dribbler-single into the hole at shortstop.
“It was a battle,” Cheney head coach Mike Constantine said.
Indeed it was as both teams exchanged scoring bursts. The Summerhawks jumped on top in the top of the first, getting a lead-off single from Gabe Gerber who subsequently stole second and third before scoring on a one-out single by Justin Ward.
“It was a super good game, I was proud of those kids”
head coach Mike Constantine
Ward advanced to third on several passed balls by Ferris pitching, and came home on Jake Harmon’s groundout to first, giving Cheney a 2-0 lead. That didn’t last long as the Saxons put up a two-spot in the bottom of the frame.
The score remained tied until the sixth inning when Jamel Chabot stroked a one-out single. Ward reached base on a throwing error by the Ferris pitcher, which also advanced him to second and Chabot to third where Harmon collected his second RBI of the afternoon on a groundout to second.
Like the first lead, Cheney’s margin lasted less than a half inning as Ferris tied the game at 3 in the bottom of the sixth. Brady Benson gave the Summerhawks a scoring opportunity in the top of the seventh with a lead-off double, but after getting bunted to third, advanced no further.
“It was a super good game, I was proud of those kids,” Constantine said of his club’s resiliency.
Cheney managed seven hits, with Ward going 2 for 2 to lead the Summerhawks batters. Gerber pitched five and a third innings, giving up three walks, a hit batter while striking out two. He was lifted in the sixth by Benson, who got Cheney out of a bases-loaded jam with a double play.
Constantine said he is continually impressed by the play of his young team. Their biggest challenge, he said, is “anticipation, being ready to go” when they hit the diamond, a task made difficult at times by the influences of other summertime activities taking place during the day, such as athletic camps.
Cheney drops to 4-9 on the season, with American Legion league action continuing this week with a doubleheader Tuesday, July 1, at home with Colville. A home-away series with Chewelah was changed with the two clubs swapping home dates, putting Cheney at home July 2 and on the road July 11.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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