Team in semifinals following opening round defeat

SPOKANE — After dropping it’s first game of the 2008 Washington State American Legion Baseball Junior A championship tournament 5-1 to Central Valley, the Sun Devils rebounded to eliminate Lewis and Clark 9-4 Sunday morning and the Sun Devils eliminated the Burlington Sox 11-4 Monday afternoon.

Moses Lake Sun Devils manager Quintz Whitaker said his team is beginning to peak at the state tournament following the Sun Devil’s 11-4 win over Burlington.

“This is the first day we put it all together,” he said. “This is the first real complete game we played as a team.”

Whitaker said his team is adjusting to the pressures of the state tournament.

“We started off slow,” he said. “The nerves kind of showed a bit, but we are getting better at bats.”

The Sun Devils jumped ahead of Burlington early when Moses Lake hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning.

The scoring began when Brandon Moreno hit a home run, and on the next pitch starting pitcher Anthony Hernandez hit another Sun Devil home run.

The Sun Devils play today at 5 p.m. in the semifinals