Young Potlatch team places 3rd in home show

The 10-under regular season team from Potlatch battled through for a third-place finish Sunday in the Potlatch Wooden Bat tournament.

The tournament again brought teams, many of them all-star groups assembled after expiration of the regular home seasons, from all over the area for the three-day event which was waged by 15 teams as the heat wave hit the area.

The junior Potlatch crew booked a 1-1 mark in early rounds and booked a comeback win over the Moscow Mavericks. They then landed the number-three place with a 2-1 decision over the Moscow All-Stars.

“It’s great to have a Potlatch team place in their own tournament,” Coach Patrick Grady commented.

The 10-under division was topped by the Triple Play Cubs from Pullman. Trail, B.C., the entry which qualified for longest road trip recognition, placed second.

The junior Potlatch team started their playoff campaign with a comeback win over the Mavericks after the Mavs hammered out five early runs, but the Potlatch offense came to life and they advanced with a win.

Potlatch bagged their two runs early in the placing game against the Moscow All-Stars. Moscow came back to score a run, but Potlatch pitching kept the one-run lead on the books until the end of the game. Brayden Hadler and Tyler Wilcoxen pitched for Potlatch in the squeaker win for third place.

The Potlatch 12-under team finished out at 1-1-2

They started the campaign with a 5-5 tie decision against Orofino and then ran into the Triple Play Cubs, eventual champs, and sustained a 2-15 loss.

The Potlatch team then defeated the Latah All-Stars 9-6 for their lone win in the campaign. Their pitchers Dakota Hadler, Bailey Clark and Garrett Thompson played a big role in the Potlatch turn-around.

“They just decided to go out and play. They really wanted to win the game,” Coach Rudy Carpenter said.

Potlatch 12-under finished with an 8-12 loss to Orofino.

Colfax 12-under team, coached this year be Dan Bodey, finished out their tourney run Sunday with consolation games against Quincy and the Latah All-Stars. The Colfax team, which is made up mostly of 11-year-olds, sustained 10 run losses in their last two game.

Colfax went into the consolation bracket after a 0-16 loss to the Lewis-Clark Warriors and a 1-16 loss to Triple Play, the eventual winners of the Potlatch tournament.

Potlatch players who decide to compete in the balance of the tourney season are expected to hook up with one of the all-star teams. The Pullman tourney will take center stage for the coming weekend