Cheney 15U baseball drops game to Red Storm

The Cheney Summerhawks 15U team had what was supposed to be a busy week turn into a short one, losing their only game to the Red Storm, 6-0, June 25.

Against the Red Storm, head coach Nick Fell said Cheney's pitching performed better than in past games. Colten Horst (0-1), who was pitching for the first time in a year-and-a-half, started the game, giving up only two runs in the first two innings. Julian Chabot relieved Horst for the rest of the game.

The Red Storm's defense kept the Summerhawks from mounting any offense with their pitcher striking out 13 Cheney batters.

Miscommunication led to the Summerhawks's three-game week turning into one. Cheney was scheduled to play Northwest Premier Baseball club's 15U team, June 22. Premier had rescheduled the game and informed the umpires but not the Summerhawks, who made the two-hour drive to Post Falls before they learned about the cancellation.

The June 24 game between the Summerhawks and the Joe's never happened due to lack of an umpire. The official scheduled to call the game thought it was in Medical Lake. Both teams waited until 7 p.m. - an hour after the game's scheduled start time - before deciding to play a one-hour scrimmage.

"I was very pleased with what I saw from the scrimmage," Fell said. "Our approach at the plate was strong and we scored a couple of runs. It was what I wanted to see but it didn't carry over into the game against the Red Storm for whatever reason."

Cheney is 0-3 and in fifth place in the Spokane Indians Youth Baseball League 15U team standings. After their June 30 game against the Hurricanes, the Summerhawks play the Red Storm July 6 at Rogers JV baseball field in Spokane.

Fell said his team will continue to focus on fundamentals and hitting - specifically situational hitting - leading up to the Red Storm rematch.

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].