Northwest Regional Tournament begins Friday at Mulcahy The NWCART will be held in Anchorage for the first time in years and the three Alaska teams are hoping to cash in on that home-field advantage. Dimond, Juneau and Fairbanks are vying to become the first Alaska team to win the regional tournament. The NWCART opens Friday at Mulcahy Stadium and features state champions from Pocatello, Idaho; Cody, Wyoming; North Medford, Oregon; Whitefish, Montana; and Hyrum, Utah. Follow every pitch at live scoring: iscorecast/954B47E74E Or watch the games live: nfhsnetwork/channels/alaska 2014 NWCART FIELD OF TEAMS Team: Pocatello Razorbacks [Idaho] Manager: Dan McCaskill Record: 52-1 Notes: Pitching ace Trevor Bowers started two of the team’s final three games at the state tournament, including a seven-inning shutout over Nampa. Mason Foltz got the win in relief in the championship game, a 6-5 win over Moscow. Conner LaMont drove in the would-be winning with an RBI base hit in the fifth inning. The team has won 52 games. Fifty-two! First game: Friday vs. Juneau [AK] 9 a.m. ADT Team: Juneau Midnight Suns [Alaska] Manager: Andy Macaulay Record: 20-11 Notes: Power pitcher Tanner Petrie is 13-1 with 140 strikeouts over the last two Legion seasons and will probably have the ball in his hands for Juneau’s first game. The two-time all-state pick is also a pretty good hitter, batting .457 during the regular season. American Legion Baseball in the capital city goes back 55 years, with Juneau hosting the first state games in 1958. First game: Friday vs. Pocatello [ID] 9 a.m. ADT Team: Cody Cubs [Wyoming] Manager: Bart Grenz Record: 44-14 Notes: You know you’re team is a big deal at home when the radio announcer travels 2,800 miles to cover the team. But it’s not every year Cody wins a state title. In fact, it hadn’t happened since 1989 before the Cubs pulled it off this year. Cody beat Powell 15-1 in the title game and pitcher/shortstop John Beaudrie was named tournament MVP for the second straight year. First game: Friday vs. North Medford [OR] 12 p.m. ADT Team: North Medford Mavericks [Oregon] Manager: Brett Wolfe Record: 27-20 Notes: Medford is one of the true baseball hotbeds in the Pacific Northwest. The Mavericks beat La Grande 5-4 in the state championship game, thanks to a two-run rally in the sixth inning that produced the go-ahead run and a game-ending diving catch by center fielder Preston Johnson. First game: Friday vs. Cody [WY] 12 p.m. ADT Team: Whitefish Glacier Twins [Montana] Manager: Bob Rupp Record: 37-20 Notes: It was 1986. Top Gun was the top movie, The Cosby Show was No. 1 on TV and it was the last time the Glacier Twins won the state championship. They beat the Lauren Dodgers 8-4 in the title game with pitcher A.J. Wetsch earning tournament MVP honors. First game: Friday vs. Fairbanks [AK] 3:15 p.m. ADT Team: Fairbanks Wild [Alaska] Manager: Tyler Hollister Record: 17-12 Notes: Fairbanks won the inaugural Horizon Lines Invitational to qualify for the NWCART, beating the Fairbanks 49ers 11-4 in the championship game to cap a 4-0 showing. Tyler Christmann came up huge by pitching seven strong innings and driving in three RBIs. Benjamin Hall also had three RBIs. First game: Friday vs. Whitefish [MT] 3:15 p.m. ADT Team: Northern Utah Eagles [Utah] Manager: Stephen Hansen Record: 15-5 Notes: After losing four straight games a month ago, the Eagles turned to its pitching staff and held five of the next six opponents to one run. The team ERA is 2.01. Slugger Hunter Porritt is hitting .514 and has nine extra-base hits in 37 at-bats. First game: Friday vs. Dimond [Alaska] 6:30 p.m. ADT Team: Dimond Lynx [Alaska] Manager: Telon Bremont Record: 21-12 Notes: Armed with arguably the deepest pitching staff in the state, Dimond’s Big Three of Grant Remmer, Jordan Clevenger and Mahlon Cleveland can make the Lynx a threat to win any tournament. The offense’s best player is Payton Lauwers, an all-state outfielder who hit .410 with 32 RBIs in 18 league games. Dimond has already won a tournament this year, claiming the Midnight Sun Invitational. First game: Friday vs. Hyrum [UT] 6:30 p.m. ADT This story was written by Van Williams, a freelance writer in Anchorage and the ALB Media Director.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 07:52:42 +0000
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