An exciting Blaine County Recreation District 2005 Little League baseball season came to a close last week with tournament games at the Nelson Field diamonds in Hailey.
Feature game took place in the 11-12 year-old Major division, where the Dodgers sponsored by Lefty's Bar & Grill finally beat the Yankees sponsored by Atkinsons' Markets 5-1 to capture the championship.
The Dodgers (8-1 for the season) got off to a 5-0 lead after two innings and held on for the 5-1 victory in Wednesday's title game, thus avenging their only loss of the season—a 4-3 setback to the Yankees during the regular season that began May 21.
Pitching for the Dodgers were Alex Sloan, Tanner Farrow and Jake Freeman. Other players were Eric Williamson, Sage Sauerbrey, Cody Swenke, Isaac Johnson, Max Jones, Drew Deffé, Christopher Nalen and Connor Farrow.
"This season we were striving for teamwork, good sportsmanship and improvement in baseball skills," said Chuck Sloan, who coached the Dodgers along with Chuck Williamson and Steve Deffé.
On the second-place Yankees coached by Layne Jensen and Steve Bruck were Michael Whalen, Kevin Jensen, Ian Keys, James Paris, Logan Urrizaga, Airik Donohoe, Nathan Farrow, Nick Bruck, August Danielson, Tom Crosby and Jake Vegwert.
In the 11-12 third-place game, the Seattle Mariners (sponsored by the Idaho Mountain Express and coached by Chuck Bates) won over the Florida Marlins (sponsored by Cox Communications and coached by Lewis Garza).
In all, six teams took part in the 11-12 age group, eight teams in 9-10 and nine teams in 7-8.
Check the Local Life section of the June 29 edition of the Idaho Mountain Express for more photos from the 11-12 league tournament finale.
Other league tournament results in games held June 13-18 on the Hailey diamonds:
Ages 9-10: Championship—The Louisville Bats (sponsored by Andrews Heating and coached by Pat Cooley) won over the Portland Sea Dogs (sponsored by Jim Freeman Landscaping and coached by Don Cooper).
Third-place—The Batavia Muckdogs (sponsored by Marketron and coached by Ron Buell) won over the Midland Rock Hounds (sponsored by Power Engineers and coached by Jim Braatz).
Ages 7-8: Championship— The top-seeded Binghamton Mets (sponsored by Shorty's Deli and coached by Andy Portillo) won over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (sponsored by Sawtooth Auto Sales and coached by Sam Urbany).
There was a third-place tie between the Burlington Bees (sponsored by Spine Care of Idaho and coached by Scott Basolo) and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (sponsored by Whitehead Landscaping and coached by Reamy Goodwin).
The Dodgers, sponsored by Lefty's Bar & Grill, pose with their trophies after Wednesday's 5-1 title game victory over the Yankees at Nelson Field in Hailey. Front, from left, Sage Sauerbrey, Eric Williamson, Isaac Johnson, Alex Sloan and Connor Farrow. Middle, from left, Christopher Nalen, Tanner Farrow, Jake Freeman, Drew Deffé, Max Jones and Cody Swenke. Coaches, back row, from left, Chuck Williamson, Chuck Sloan and Steve Deffé. Photo by David N. Seelig
