Blaine Title second in 25th Wood River tourney

Men’s slow-pitch meet begins Saturday

A couple of unusual things happened Sunday during the 25th edition of the Wood River Invitational men’s slow-pitch softball tournament at West Ketchum Coliseum.

First of all, a Wood River Valley team made the championship game of the seven-team double elimination tournament. Secondly, the title game was so close and evenly-matched that Blaine County Title and Bud Light of Twin Falls went into extra innings.

In the end, Bud Light’s superior baserunning and fielding were the decisive factors in its 29-25 eight-inning triumph over Blaine County Title. There were 66 hits in the game, but 3 unearned runs in the final frame gave Twin Falls the win.

Playing without benefit of a regular league schedule this summer, Blaine County Title (9-6 on the season, all in tournaments) made a determined run, averaging a tournament-high 23.6 runs per game and .601 team batting average.

But Title (3-2 in the tourney) was rusty afield, committing 6 errors for 7 unearned runs in a 18-12 semi-final loss to Bud Light and 6 more errors in the 54-run championship contest. In contrast, Bud Light pulled off three double plays in the first four innings of the semi-final to throttle Title’s resolve.

Nobody could stop leading tournament hitter and home run king Chris Benson, the Title second baseman who went 19-for-23 (.826) with 9 homers abnd 23 RBI. Benson cracked 4 homers in Title’s first game and was 5-for-5 with 3 homers and 8 RBIs in the title contest.

Other Blaine County Title highlights: Rod Watson smacked 3 homers including a grand slam in a 27-14 victory over Utley Appraisal; and Dates Fryberger (.714) batted 5-for-5 with 3 doubles and 2 homers leading Title’s 36-hit assault in an amazing 29-21 triumph over last year’s champion Falls Ave. Fitness of Twin Falls.

Results in the Scoreboard.