For the week of June 18 - 24, 2003

Big bats boost Legion over Pokey, Rigby

Tinker on fire at the plate

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After helping the Wood River High School baseball team to the State 3A championship in May, Paul Tinker wasn’t happy about his hitting.

So the righty revamped his swing—crouching lower in the box and opening up his left foot towards third base.

The tinkering worked.

His new stance has given Tinker, always a fine hitter, considerably more pop and added ability to level off his swing on the low pitch.

It’s been a positive and productive change for the Wood River "AA" American Legion baseball team seven games into the 2003 summer season.

Tinker is on fire.

In seven games he’s batting .560 (14-for-25) with 10 runs scored and 18 RBI. Considering Wood River (3-4 overall, 3-2 Area C) has scored 48 runs in seven games, Tinker is responsible for about 38% of the runs.

Monday’s 17-4 five-inning, run-rule home triumph over the Rigby Cyclones at Hailey’s Founders Field was a good example of Tinker cranking up his extra-base power.

Tinker (3-for-4, 4 runs scored, 7 RBI) sparked Wood River’s 20-hit assault in just four bat-around at-bats against a young and shorthanded first-year "AA" team from Rigby.

He wasn’t the only hitter on a hot-as-firecrackers afternoon in Hailey.

In fact, Wood River’s 2-5 hitters—Kellen Chatterton, Ryne Reynoso, Tinker and Matt Conover—went a combined 12-for-13 with 15 runs scored for the afternoon.

Reynoso (4-for-4, 4 runs) got the ball rolling with a three-run homer in the first inning. Conover did his part with an RBI double and Dylan McIlhenny produced the fifth run of the inning with a bouncing ball.

Visiting Rigby made some headway in the second, touching Wood River starter Steve Hansen for four runs on four hits and three walks.

Wood River wasted no time with a response. In the home second, Chatterton (9-for-17 season, .529) legged out an infield single and lefty Reynoso (11-for-19, .579 season) drilled a line drive single to right.

Tinker reached out and poked a three-run homer over the left field fence. Conover (3-for-3, 3 runs) followed with a long triple and strolled home on an RBI single by McIlhenny (2 hits) for a 9-4 Hailey lead.

Hansen (2-0), who threw 45 pitches in the second inning alone, regained his control in the third and held Rigby scoreless in the next three frames. He finished with a tidy, 87-pitch six-hitter for his second win.

Wood River added three more runs in the third inning—Tinker hitting the left field gap for a two-run double and Drew Detwiler (2 hits) ripping an RBI single to left field.

In the fourth Wood River batted around once again, for five runs. Reynoso started it with an RBI single and Tinker found another gap with an RBI triple to right center. Conover lined a run-scoring single to center, Joe Paisley (2 hits) hit safely and Brady Femling added an RBI single.

Played in under two hours, the Area C league game ended on the 10-run rule when Hansen retired the Cyclones 1-2-3 in the visitor fifth.

Last Tuesday at Founders, Tinker (7 RBI) was the man again in Wood River’s 10-7 win over Pocatello. He belted a three-run homer and two-run double as Hailey (13 hits) erased a 7-6 deficit with a three-run sixth.

Winning pitcher Hansen didn’t get much support in the field (6 Wolverine errors), but he did get help in the seventh inning when Ryne Reynoso came in to get the save. Chatterton and Reynoso each had three hits.

Probably the most encouraging sign of the week for a Wood River program tackling its first season of "AA" baseball was Thursday’s 4-2 and 6-4 doubleheader loss to the tough Twin Falls Cowboys at CSI’s Walker Field in Twin Falls.

Twin Falls (10-3, 4-1 Area C) sent out its best pitchers against Wood River—first-game winner J.D. Lott, Andy Coats and Steve Turner—and the Hailey squad held its own at the plate with 11 hits in two games. Unfortunately Wood River also made seven errors.

Wood River coach Lars Hovey said, "Twin Falls had its best pitchers out there, so they weren’t taking us lightly. One error cost us the first game, then we had a 4-0 lead in the second before Twin battled back.

"It showed us we belong in this league. With a full contingent of players we can be competitive with anyone."

Lott out-dueled Ryne Reynoso (1-1) in the 4-2 opener. Still, Reynoso allowed only four hits. Trailing 2-0, Wood River doggedly tied it 2-2 in the sixth on a leadoff Conover double and RBI hits by Tinker and Detwiler.

Second-game starter Detwiler (0-2) limited the Cowboys to two runs in the first four frames before Twin Falls came alive with a four-run fifth in its 6-4 nightcap victory. McIlhenny had a double for the Wolverines.

Next up: After hosting Highland’s "AA" squad from Pocatello Tuesday, Wood River entertains Idaho Falls’ Russets Saturday, June 21 at noon and then takes on the Minico Spartans Monday at 5 p.m. at Founders Field.

 

"A" goes 2-2

Wood River’s Legion "A" squad (3-3) continued to show progress Wednesday, splitting a home twinbill with Shelley at Founders Field.

In the opener, Billy Kramer’s two-out, RBI double in the seventh inning drove home winning pitcher Tyson Reynoso with the decisive run in a wild 13-12 victory over Shelley.

Femling (3 runs) and Hansen (2 hits, 2 runs) chipped in for the winners. Shelley won the nightcap 8-1, handing Tyson Reynoso (2-1) with his first pitching loss.

Coming up: The "A" team entertains Madison of Rexburg today, Wednesday at 3 p.m. for a Founders Field doubleheader and then starts at 10-game road swing—starting off at Blackfoot Friday, at Pocatello Saturday and at Twin Falls next Tuesday.

In other news: Tyson Reynoso and Femling have been chosen for the Baseball Idaho Junior Olympic Select Team that will play at least seven games June 20-28 at Tucson, Az.

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