MEDICAL LAKE – The 18U Columbia Basin River Dogs opened up the Spokane Wood Bat Classic with three wins on Friday and Saturday, including some impressive offensive showings across those wins.

After a 3-1 win against Whatcom Post 7 to open up the tournament, the River Dogs got the bats rolling in a 15-8 win over Absolute Human Performance Academy.

“It felt really good to go out and get two (wins) today,” River Dog co-Head Coach Brock Lybbert said. “Last week we had some challenging competition at WSU, so we needed to bounce back a little bit.”

A single by first baseman Hayden Meek began a three-run bottom of the third inning against Post 7, where an RBI single by center fielder Jackson Carlos drove in Meek and third baseman Cruz Martinez. Two at-bats later, catcher Blaine Macdonald sent home Carlos on an RBI single. Post 7 added their lone run in the top of the seventh inning, but pitcher Evan Smith stepped onto the mound in relief of starter Cooper Hancock to record the final out.

“We were able to scratch out the runs we needed, and Cooper (Hancock) continued to be consistent, continued to challenge hitters and threw really well,” Lybbert said.

The River Dogs tallied 10 runs by the end of the top of the third against AHP, scoring three (two-RBI single by Martinez; RBI single by Carlos) in the second and seven (sacrifice-fly by pitcher Bodie Yale; two-RBI single by Carlos; two-RBI single by Macdonald; Meek and shortstop Anson Gustafson score off error) in the third. Taking advantage of early walks and timely hits helped Columbia Basin secure a significant lead.

“It’s a lot harder to make those adjustments when they’re mixing and matching with guys that are throwing lots of strikes,” Lybbert said. “In that game, the adjustments weren’t quite as challenging because some of them struggled to throw strikes. They did find a little groove there, the third pitcher found a little bit of a rhythm and kept us on our toes for a couple of innings.”

AHP added four runs across the bottom of the third and fourth innings, but five River Dog runs in the top of the sixth added some breathing room.

“In that second game, we like our approach at the plate and that we came out ready to swing,” Lybbert said. “We had some learning lessons there too from a pitching standpoint – knowing when to smell blood in the water and attack hitters. When we put up a crooked number and swing the bat like we did, that we’ve got to come out and challenge hitters and let our defense work. We’ll continue to work on it.”

Carlos drove in six runs across the span of Friday’s games, scoring three runs of his own.

“I need to get on base,” Carlos said. “Both these teams were tough, good competition – my mindset is just ‘Get on base and have them get me out.”

The River Dog outfielder said his performances at the plate were due in part to the support of his teammates.

“I thrive on our teammates,” Carlos said. “They get me hyped up. When I get hits, they get me hyped up; they help me a lot when they get hits, and I just follow them.”

Twelve runs scored in the top of the first inning helped the River Dogs secure a 16-2 win over the Edmonton Expos on Saturday afternoon, where outfielder Peyton Juarez and Gustafson both drove in four runs in the win. Macdonald recorded three RBI in the win, and starting pitcher Kason Whitaker surrendered two hits, struck out six batters and walked one in the win. The River Dogs recorded 10 hits in the win.

“There was a lot of really tentative, young hitters that we talked about how we want to attack early in the count,” Lybbert said. “Strike one, strike two – we want to be looking for those things and be ready to drive pitches early in the count to that we’re not hitting on our heels. I thought we’ve done a lot better job of that lately.”

Results from Saturday night’s matchup against the Spokane Cannons were not available in time for press deadline, but see the Wednesday edition of the Columbia Basin Herald for full coverage of the tournament.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.