Sandpoint Dawgs place fourth in Rathdrum tourney

SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint Dawgs are extending the 2013 baseball season this summer, competing in the 14 and under age division, including a home game on Saturday, Aug. 10.

Team Dawgs is a collaboration of community members, Sandpoint Little League coaches, current and former coaches from Sandpoint High School, parents and some of the most dedicated young men in the region. The team was formed to help prepare players for the next level of competition at the high school level, focusing on mechanics and teamwork.

In their first tournament recently, the Dawgs placed 4th overall at the 2013 Rathdrum City Classic.  Eight teams, from Seattle to Sandpoint, participated in the tournament with the Dawgs upsetting the No. 1 seed Post Falls Cardinals 7-6 on the final day of play. The Dawgs tallied 13 hits and had only two strikeouts in the seven inning game.

Pitcher Sydney Bottomley set the tone early in the game with four strikeouts and zero earned runs in the first four innings. Patrick Kummer, Kevin Gray, Damian Dalthorp, Tyler Shaffer and Joey Crosby all batted over .500 for the game, contributing five RBIs. The Dawgs’ other two runs came in the first inning on a Billy Brackett double.  

The Dawgs defense was lead by Hunter Donahoe, who allowed zero passed balls behind the plate as well as some incredible plays by Jacob Humrich, Caleb Edlund and John Humrich. Kummer brought the Dawgs home, pitching the final two innings of the game and retiring the side with a four pitch strikeout with runners on first and third.

“We are a young team that has only been working together for a few weeks. We have three 12 year-olds on the roster competing in a 14U division, and we are unique in that regard,” said head coach Ken Oler. “We set several goals for ourselves this short season. At the top of the list was challenging ourselves. Without challenge there is no growth. We challenge ourselves every practice to get better and we definitely challenged ourselves this weekend by competing against some of the best club teams in the Northwest.”

Oler attributed the success to the parents for their support, the coaches for their willingness to come out and share their expertise with the players, and of course, the players. He also praised local volunteer groundskeeper Jeff Johnson for spending so much time to keep the fields in great shape.

“We have an amazing group of young athletes here in Sandpoint who just want to compete and get better,” said Oler. “I am grateful for the opportunity to help them do both.”

The Dawgs are scheduled to play team Neon, with players from Spokane and Lewiston, at Pine St. Field on Saturday, Aug. 10. First pitch is at 10 a.m.