Cannons win twice in ALB play

SPOKANE — During an unusually quiet week in an otherwise busy time for AAA American Legion play, the West Plains Cannons had just two games, winning both in decidedly different ways 11-0 and 3-2 over the Spokane Northstars, June 4 and 5.

“I don’t think we hit a ball out of the infield in the first inning and we scored six runs,” Cannons Coach Austin Sharp said of the June 4 rout of the Rogers High-based team.

The Cannon’s “small ball” strategy allowed them to open the floodgates early in the first game.

“We’ve always been able to take advantage of them bunting, base, running, doing some different things,” Sharp said.

Still, the Cannons were able to only muster nine hits, but took advantage of seven Northstars’ errors in the 10-run run shortened five-inning game.

Giving credit to the opponent, Sharp said the Northstars’ hit the ball hard, “(But) our defense has played great.” The Cannons played errorless ball.

The following night at Holliday Field, things started off well.

“We put up a goose egg (on them) in the first inning and then the bottom of the first we score three and I’m thinking, ‘Oh boy, here we go,’” Sharp said. “And nope, that was it.”

Reardan’s Tate Nelson had six innings as a starter, giving up the Northstars’ runs in the top of the sixth. Luke Dickey from Medical Lake — and now Wenatchee Valley Community College — came on in relief in the seventh.

Taylor Oliver from Medical Lake reached on an error and both he and Thompson scored on a Tate Nelson single for the 3-0 lead.