YOUTH SPORTS: Baseball, golf and more; Finney signs
PITCH, HIT AND RUN
Four locals advance to team championship: Haley Loffer of Hayden advanced to the Seattle Mariners team championship for the fifth year in a row, after competing at the Northern Idaho Pitch, Hit & Run sectional competition on May 31 at Croffoot Park in Hayden.
Loffer, a national finalist, is one of four locals to qualify for the team championship Sunday at Safeco Field in Seattle. Loffer, competing in the girls 13/14 year-old division, is in her final year of eligibility.
In the boys competition, other Northern Idaho sectional champions include Carter Friesz (Hayden) in the boys 13/14 year-old division, Trevor Cogley (Hayden) in the boys 9/10 year-old division and Alyssa Krause (Post Falls) in the girls 11/12 year-old division.
This will be Friesz's third consecutive team championship competition, and this is his final year of eligibility.
Each winner's score earned him/her a place in the top three in the region, which consists of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Alaska and Canada.
The first-place all-around champion in each age group at the team championship has the opportunity to advance to the national finals, but does not automatically advance to the national finals. Their scores will be compared nationally to the other 30 Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run first-place all-around team champions to determine the top three scorers in each age group advancing to the national finals, which will be held during All-Star week in Cincinnati.
Pitch, Hit & Run allows youth to showcase their talents in pitching, hitting and base-running with scores determined by individual performances.
BASEBALL
Northwest Premier 18-and-under: Northwest Premier went 6-0 and won the Buffalo Wild Wings tournament in Billings, Mont.
The wins included two game-winning walk-off hits in the bottom of the seventh and one walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth. Northwest Premier beat Billings, Grandview, Colo., Pocatello and Missoula in championship bracket to win it all. The tourney included teams from Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
Northwest Premier averaged more than 10 hits per game and received stellar pitching by all players including three outings by Tanner Toepke, a complete seven-inning semifinal game win by Brendan Delgado and clutch relief by Jesse Dunham.
Tanner Toepke was awarded tournament MVP, hitting over .450.
The semifinal and championship games were played in a minor league ballpark (Dehler Park in downtown Billings).
Northwest Premier heads to Selah, Wash., on Thursday to take part in the Yakima Valley tournament.
Idaho Junior Golf Association
District 4
June 10
At the Coeur d'Alene Golf Club
AGE 9-10 (9 holes) - 1, Alexander Cooke 41. 2, Tyler Pride 43. 3, Caden Sampsel 50.
AGE 11-12 (9 holes) - 1, Brayden Miles 34. 2, Matthew Durkin 41. 3, Quinton Sampsel 43.
AGE 13 - 1, Zane Mularski 89. 2, Taylor Bush 101. 3, Rhonin Edwards 110.
AGE 14-15 - 1 (tie), Cameron Flores, Hogan Samuelson 78. 3, Treyton Forsman 80.
AGE 16-18 - 1, Alex Callahan 73. 2, Ty Brearley 75. 3, Preston Roth 76.
AGE 9-10 (9 holes) - 1, Amanda Nguyen 56. 2, Bently Flory 62. 3, Cali Iocolucci 68.
AGE 11-12 (9 holes) - 1, Kami Twining 46. 2, Libby Bloom 59. 3, Charlotte Bloom 61.
AGE 13 - 1, Makena Rauch 86. 2, Kyla Currie 104.
AGE 14-15 - 1, Kylie Marie Esh 79. 2, Courtney Jackson 91. 3, Samantha Dement 113.
AGE 16-18 - 1, Sierra Tingey 77. 85, Megan Cysewski 85. 3, Sarah Baxter 86.
Submit items for youth and non-varsity high school sports by noon Tuesday for publication Wednesday. Email stories and photos (in .jpg format) to [email protected].
Information: 664-8176, Ext. 2019