Cougars start Jr. Legion season

A new combined Junior Legion team of Whitman County players started the season Tuesday night with a 7-13 loss to West Valley at McDonald Field in Colfax.

The County Cougars are now the lone Junior Legion entrant in the Spokane Legion lineup after a merger of the Colfax -based Cougars and the Pullman Posse which had to shut down for lack of players this year.

Matthew Johnson has returned to head the Cougars for the third straight year of coaching the club. Johnson graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in December and has his sights set on attending law school next year.

Ty Druffel of Pullman is serving as assistant coach.

The Cougar lineup includes John Mellor, Patrick Jacobs and Garrett Burke from Colfax and Ryan Maley and Will Dedic from the TOR Spartans. Maley, Dedic and Mellor are returnees.

Pullman players merging into the program include Zac Druffel, John Buscher, and Jamie Bledsoe, players on the Posse roster last year.

Justin Cillay, Tyler Nestegard, Stephen Mealey, Stephen McAleer and Ryan Bumstead are also on the roster from Pullman.

Cillay started for the Cougars Tuesday and was relieved by Zac Druffel in the fifth. West Valley had seven hits and made use of seven walks.

Jacobs tagged a three-run double in the third inning for the big Cougar hit, and Dedic tripled. Cillay, Druffel and Buscher singled.

The Cougar team will play in the Spokane south division, one of four in the Spokane organization. Medical Lake, Asotin, Cheney and Freeman are other teams in the division.

The Cougars will be back at McDonald tonight to play two games against Freeman starting at 5:30. They will play in the Asotin tournament this weekend.