The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT August 4, 2012
While it might be the final night of baseball in a popular Coeur d’Alene location, a new era might be on the verge of making a permanent stop.
A GROUP of Coeur d’Alene American Legion alumni will take McEuen Field for the final time tonight at 7.
The event, organized by Aaron Drake who coached the Lumberjacks last season, will feature 25 former players from the program’s 45-year history at McEuen.
“The legion contacted me to put something together,” Drake said. “Some of us alumni wanted to do it to have a positive way to leave McEuen. There’s lots of memories from that field.”
Drake was on the league’s board of directors this season.
“Actually Nick (Groth) approached me in the fall when I first got on the board,” Drake said. “
The visiting team is tentatively to include: Sid Smith, Derek Priano, Cody Spencer, Casey Spencer, Jake Keevy, Nick Pierson, Chad Hensley, Eric Eilers, Brandon Robinson, Tony Frazier, Juilan Burgess, Coty Cummings and Mike Estrada.
Players making up the home team are: Andy Oss, Mike Dorame, Austin Kiefer, Jason Pattis, Travis Lovejoy, Ben Johnston, Bruce Coppess, Josh Scrafford, Jordan Anderson, Nick Groth, Daley Benson and Bryant Sampson.
Previously scheduled around July 4 weekend, the game will be nine innings.
“We plan on playing nine,” Drake said. “We’d planned on having it in July, but there wasn’t a lot of availability.”
With two teams — the Lumbermen and Loggers — at state tournaments, neither team will be able to participate.
“That’s the only downside right now,” Drake said. “So they won’t be able to see or be part of the event.”
Drake added that if interest is high enough, they’re planning a home run derby starting at 6 p.m.
Chances are — the fun will begin shortly after.
Following a successful visit to Worley in May, the members of the King of the Cage mixed martial arts promotion will return to the Coeur d’Alene Casino on Thursday, Aug. 23.
The scheduled main event will feature Trevor Prangley against Brandon Anderson, with Israel Velasco vs. Josh Queen and George Stork vs. Will Noland also on the main card.
Stork took Prangley to the limit in May’s matchup before Prangley won by tapout in the third and final round.
A number of other locals involved with Prangley’s Coeur d’Alene-based American Kickboxing Academy are also scheduled to compete against opponents to be named later.
THE NIGHT after the MMA fights, there’s another kind of battle that will begin until the middle of November — the start of the high school football season.
And this should be quite the fun year to watch.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com.