NINERS ARE TOURNEY CHAMPS

The Northeast AAA 49ers stayed hot last week, winning six straight games and improving to 9-4 on the Legion baseball season. Northeast opened the week on June 23 with a doubleheader sweep of the Palouse Patriots, winning 12-0 and 16-1.

The 49ers then carried that momentum into the Kerry Kelly Memorial Tournament championship in Medical Lake, where they went 4-0 with wins over the Spokane Bandits, Palouse Patriots, and West Plains Cannons.

In the first Palouse game, Northeast rolled to a 12-0 win in five innings.

Miles Krausz scored four runs and had two hits, while Jet Bateman went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs. Gus Schatz and Kyle Bradfield each drove in three runs. Bradfield earned the win on the mound, throwing four scoreless innings with five strikeouts before Cody Adams finished the shutout.

The 49ers followed with a 16-1 win over Palouse in the second game. Northeast scored six runs in the first inning and added seven more in the seventh. Krausz had three hits including a double, while Bateman, Schatz, Patrick McGuire, and Jace Lovato each added two hits. Lovato drove in three runs. Adams picked up the win, allowing one run over three innings, while Travis Wellhausen and Schatz combined for four innings of one-hit relief.

Northeast opened the Kerry Kelly Memorial Tournament on Saturday, June 27, with a 16- 14 win over the Spokane Bandits. The 49ers trailed 14-10 after five innings before scoring two runs in the sixth and four in the seventh. Lovato went 3-for-4 with two triples and four RBIs, while Bradfield finished 2-for-3 with a home run and five RBIs.

Wellhausen earned the win with two hitless innings and five strikeouts. Later that day, Northeast blanked Palouse 11- 0. Krausz went 3-for-3 with a home run, double, and three RBIs. Dekota Acosta also homered and drove in two runs, while Bradfield and Colton Hansen each had two hits. Brayden Payette started on the mound and threw three, no-hit innings before Wellhausen and Conner Lyng completed the one-hit shutout.

The 49ers beat West Plains 16-12 on Sunday, June 28. Northeast built a 12-0 lead after two innings and held off a late rally. Krausz and Hansen each drove in three runs, while Schatz and Josh Shope added two RBIs apiece.

Northeast closed the tournament with an 11-9 win over West Plains. The 49ers trailed 4-1 early before scoring four runs in the fifth inning, three in the sixth, and two in the seventh. Schatz went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Hansen had three hits. Nolan Jeanneret had a double. Bradfield struck out nine over 4 2/3 innings, allowing no earned runs.