By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
The Cheney American Legion AA baseball team saw its record slip to 5-3 last week by suffering three losses in five games, two coming in the Summer Hawks tournament last weekend.
The Hawks did manage to rebound with a pair of wins, edging Lewis and Clark 6-5 on Saturday, and avenging an earlier loss to Mead by beating the Panthers 6-5 on Sunday to capture third place in the three-day tournament.
In regular season action last Tuesday, Cheney took its first loss of the season, a 9-5 setback to visiting East Valley.
The Hawks stayed close, scoring a pair of runs in the second and the fifth to trail the Knights 6-4 heading into the seventh inning, where EV put up three runs to seal their win.
Cheney's offense managed just four hits, a single and double by Justin Walker, and singles by Drew Ableman and Zach Letsch. Ricky Heuschkel took the loss on the mound.
The Hawks found themselves facing the Knights again two days later in the tournament's first round, watching EV score three runs in the top of the seventh to break open a 2-2 tie in the Knights' 5-3 win.
Cheney's bats had a better day, with Ableman knocking a double and a triple while Logan Hennessey, Anthony Christianson, Dennis France and Walker each contributed a single. Christianson went the distance on the mound in the loss.
The Hawks ran into an offensive buzz saw in their second round game, an 11-0 loss Saturday morning to Mead, but rebounded in the evening to edge Lewis and Clark 6-5. Cheney got three runs in the bottom of the first and in the bottom of fifth for a 6-0 lead, but had to play hang on as the Tigers scored five times in the seventh before France got the final out in relief.
Cheney had eight hits, including doubles by Ableman and Christianson and a pair of singles from Letsch. Heuschkel got the win, with France coming on in the seventh to collect his first save.
The win put the Hawks in Sunday's game for third-fourth place with Mead, and in the rematch, the Hawks got the upper hand, taking a 6-1 lead before Mead rallied with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh before Heuschkel slammed the door on his third win of the season. Cheney again had eight hits, all singles with the exception of a double by France.
With a 5-3 overall record, 3-1 division mark, Cheney finds itself somewhere in the middle of the pack in the Spokane American Legion AA 11-team South Division. As of Tuesday, June 12, Central Valley led the division at 5-0, 9-2 overall.
The Summer Hawks continue their busy schedule this week, facing LC at home on Wednesday, and traveling to AK Jackson Field in Spokane to take on Shadle Park on Friday, game time at 7:30 p.m. Cheney hits the road on Saturday for a doubleheader with Whitman County at McDonald Park in Colfax.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected]
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