Grand Forks International Tournament
Aug. 29: The Barona Stars exploited eight pitchers and took advantage of six errors to paste the Caldwell Coyotes of Idaho, 16-9, in a contest called in the bottom of the 7th inning by mercy rule.

The triumph advances the Stars (29-23-1) into Sunday's "money round" quarterfinals. While the Caldwell shortstop suffered through four errors, Barona shortstop Robby Scott shined, driving home four runs on 4-for-5 hitting.

Aug. 28: All nine starters in the Barona Stars line-up registered a hit among 14 collected by the ballclub, routing the Trail (B.C.) Orioles, 17-4, in Thursday's pool play contest at the Grand Forks International Tournament, being held at James Donaldson Park in Grand Forks, British Columbia. Included among the hits were homers by Robby Scott and Ryan Hulbert, while 40-year old Brian Sos legged out a triple. BOXSCORE

Trail, located near the U.S./Canada border north of Spokane (and the original training camp home of hockey's San Diego Gulls in the 1960s), scored in the 1st inning for a 1-0 lead. However, the Stars scored four times in the 2nd, five runs in the 3rd and six more in the 4th to rout the Orioles. Scott and Javier Brown each collected three RBI, as the ballgame was called after seven frames by the mercy (10-run) rule.

The Stars (28-23-1) complete pool play on Friday, meeting the Caldwell (Idaho) Coyotes. The money-round quarterfinals are slated for Sunday, with the championship slated for Monday.

Aug. 27: In Grand Forks, British Columbia, the Barona Stars rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a late 5-4 lead, but the Cincinnati Cobalts immediately answered with a pair of runs to upend the Stars, 6-5, in Wednesday's tournament opener at James Donaldson Park. BOXSCORE

Trailing 4-2 after five innings, Mike Butterfield, an assistant coach at Grossmont College, slugged a two-run homer, bringing home Robby Scott to knot the ballgame at 4-all.

Ryan Hulbert followed with a double, eventually scoring as Brian Sos was hit by a pitch, then coming home from third base when Cincinnati failed to turn a double-play grounder.

However, the Cobalts answered with two runs in the home-half of the 6th on a 2-run basehit with the bases loaded by Jason Cohill. The catcher inished the contest with three RBI on 2-for-3 hitting.

Hard-luck losing pitcher Pete Malloy allowed just five hits over eight innings for the Stars (27-23-1), but four of the six runs allowed were unearned.

The Stars must capture their two remaining pool-play games for a chance to advance to the money round.

McCleary drove in first baseman Brian Sos with the game-tieing run in the 4th inning, but the Twins answered with three markers in the 5th to end the Stars' trip to Wichita.

The Stars complete the season by participating in the Grand Forks International Tournament in British Columbia at the end of the month.

The first run came on four walks in the 2nd inning. One frame later, an unearned run came home on an error, a pair of hit batsman and a sacrifice fly for the Panthers, which has placed third at nationals over the past two years.

The Stars answered when Jonathan Ilia (Grossmont College/CSU Dominguez Hills) lifted a sacrifice fly to score shortstop Robby Scott in the 7th. However, the Panthers answered with single runs in the 8th and 9th to advance in the winners' bracket.

Second baseman Travis McCleary collected a pair of San Diego's six basehits at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Barona (27-21-1) will meet the Derby (Kan.) Twins in an elimination contest on Thursday, starting at 11 a.m. (PT). Derby was jolted by the Conejo (Calif.) Oaks, 4-3, a team the Stars defeated earlier in the season.

Javier Brown, Bryson Lukacik and Shain Stoner opened the inning with consecutive doubles for a 2-0 lead. An out later, Robby Scott lined an RBI single, then scored when Peters sent a shot over the fence in right field to gain complete control early.

Meanwhile, starting pitcher Melvin Blackman tossed six innings of 2-hit ball to collect the victory. Kevin Becker pitched the final two frames for the save.

With the triumph, the Stars (27-20-1, 12-5 WBA) downed the Waves (11-6 WBA) for the fourth straight ballgame -- including three over the past week -- to collect the ballclub's fourth WBA pennant over the past five seasons for owner/manager Mickey Deutschman. Barona earned WBA crowns in 2004-06 before falling in a tiebreaker to the Waves last season.

The Barona Stars now advance to the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan., which also opened its 74th edition on Friday. The Stars' first contest is Aug. 5 against the Crestwood (Ill.) Panthers. The Waves also gained a berth in the nationals, opening play Aug. 4 against the Maxim (Calif.) Yankees, also at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. NBC BRACKETS

A fly ball which would have gone for a game-tieing sacrifice fly was ruled to have been dropped by a Waves outfielder, allowing both the tieing and go-ahead runs to score, giving Barona a 3-game tournament sweep. The ballclub has also captured four straight ballgames since falling to defending NBC national champion Havasu (Ariz.) Heat.

Earlier in the event, the Stars downed the San Diego Force, 13-3, in a second-round contest (Barona earned an opening round bye with its high seeding), then defeated the Waves, 17-15, in a wild winners' bracket finale.

Barona (26-20-1) has now defeated the Waves in three straight contests, with the teams slated to meet again this week in a one-game tiebreaker to determine the Western Baseball Association championship. The playoff is tentatively slated for Tuesday at 5 p.m., also at AIU.

Since both teams are scheduled to play in the same tournament later this week, both agreed to postponed the tie-breaker until early next week. WBA officials will determine the site and game time later this week.

The Stars mounted a 6-2 lead, capped by a two-run single by Adrian Bringas, the Pacific Coast Conference MVP from state runner-up Southwestern College. However, the Waves answered with five runs -- the final, go-ahead run being
unearned -- to take claim a 7-6 advantage.

In the 9th, Brian Sos opened with a line single to center, advancing to second base when the ball skipped past the defender. A ground ball by Matt Powell moved Sos to third base, but with the defense playing in, a hot grounder by Benner was plucked out of the air by the Waves' second baseman to freeze Sos at third. However, Lukacik lined a pinch-hit, line single to center to extend the contest.

Benner thought he won the ballgame two pitches earlier, but his shot downj the right-field linje curled foul. But when the Waves pitcher again attempted to bust an inside fastball past Benner, he was prepared and lined his game-winner.

Mark Leslie tossed five innings of shutout relief to collect the victory. He allowed just two hits, including a lead single by the Waves in the 11th. But when the winner attempted to steal second base, catcher Matt Powell fired a strike to Bringas at second base for the out. Leslie then ended the game with a fly out, then his sixth strikeout to end the contest, leaving the teams even with 11-5 WBA records.

Allen yielded just three hits, striking out a pair. Meanwhile, Tyler Rzepka and Brian Sos each knocked in three runs for the Stars, while Chance Miles added two RBI. Included was a run-scoring double by Sos in the 1st inning, the first of 2 doubles by the PhD, who went 3-for-4 and scored twice.

The triumph ignited the Studs to a 4-game sweep through the consolation bracket Sunday, giving them a third consecutive Kamloops International Baseball Tournament victory. The Stars finished out of the money in fourth place.

The lone highlights for the Stars was a 3-for-3 batting effort by third baseman Brandon Peters, while centerfielder Mario Knorr went 1-for-2 to finish with a tournament leading .714 (10-for-14) batting average.

Starting pitcher Matt Powell, who normally is a catcher, allowing four runs -- only one earned -- in six innings of work, then Nick O'Brien and Ward Minich combined to toss three innings of 1-hit ball to set the stage for the comeback (details were not reported). BOXSCORE

Mario Knorr was tabbed game MVP for the Stars for the third straight outing by tournament officials. The centerfielder batted 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Through three ballgames, Knorr is batting a cool .750 (9-for-12) to easily top the tournament hitting chart.

In Saturday's first ballgame, Barona was blanked by the Everett (Wash.) Merchants, 8-0, behind a 4-hit shutout by Cole Akins. He struck out eight, walked three, and was threatened only once when Knorr (2-for-3) doubled to open the bottom of the 1st. BOXSCORE

The Stars need to win four contests during Sunday's Money Round, with at least two victories needed to cash.

Tied at 2-all, Peters singled home Knorr in the 8th to grab the lead. Peters also lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Knorr in the 1st for the early lead. BOXSCORE

In the 9th, Shain Stoner slugged a two-out double, coming home on a Chance Miles basehit for the insurance run. Miles and Brian Ritayik each batted 2-for-4.

Meanwhile, Frank Allen tossed eight solid innings to gain the pitching victory. He allowed just one earned run.

On Saturday, the Stars meet the Everett (Wash.) Merchants in the winners' bracket semifinals.

Next up for the Stars is a trip to the 36th annual Kamloops International Baseball Tournament, slated for July 11-13 at Norbrock Stadium, located on McArthur Island, Kamloops, British Columbia, in Canada. The opener is against the Seattle Studs, the two-time defending tournament champs. The Stars captured this event in 1996 and 1999.

In the opener, Barona trailed 5-1, but scored nine consecutive runs, including a go-ahead, 2-run double by Brian Sos in the 7th inning, then Mike Butterfield belted a 3-run double in the 8th. Both finished with three hits and three RBI.

Meanwhile, Frank Allen entered to toss 3 2/3 innings of solid relief to garner the victory. Nick Spears collected the final two outs for the save and eliminate the Wave from the double-elimination event.

In the final, the Stars bolted to a 7-1 lead, started by a solo homer by Butterfield in the 1st, then Mario Knorr drilled a 3-run double in the 3rd. Knorr finished with four RBI, while Anthony Benner went 3-for-4 and scored three times.

The Fire bounced back behind second baseman Ryan Davis, who batted 2-for-4 with four RBI, and designated hitted Brad Boyer, who went 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI.

Left-fielder Branden Peters was a standout in both triumphs. In the opener, he stroked a 2-run single in the 1st inning, finishing with three RBI in a 2-3 outing at the plate. He also scored twice, backing five solid innings by starting pitcher Pete Malloy, who allowed just one run on five hits, striking out four.

Peters then blasted a 2-run homer in the 5th inning of the second game, while Eric Martinez opened the 2nd with a leadoff homer to give the Stars an early advantage. Meanwhile, the top two batters in the Barona line-up -- Joe Inzone and Robby Scott -- each batted 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI to jump-start the offense.

Starting pitcher Melvin Blackman yielded just two runs over six solid innings to gain the victory, with Frank Allen striking out five batters over the final three frames to register the save.

Notes -- Stars second baseman Nick Spears (Grossmont College) has signed with Southeastern Oklahoma, which plays in the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference. Coined the Savage Storm, 'SEOK' tied for second place with Angelo State at 31-13, right behind champion Abilene Christian.

Friday's Results
First Round
North County Waves df. San Diego Marines
Fire df. Force
L.A. Wildcats 13, San Diego Mavericks 2
Barona Stars 8, South Bay Saints 6
Winners Bracket Semifinals
Fire 3, North County Waves 0
Barona Stars 11, L.A. Wildcats 3
Challenger Bracket First Round
Force 13, San Diego Marines 2
San Diego Mavericks 12, South Bay Saints 2

Otherwise, Sos, the clean-up batter, went 2-for-2 with a sacrifice fly and a pair of RBI, while Chance Miles batted 3-for-5 and five RBI, including a 3-run homer when the Stars scored seven times in the 6th to blow open the ballgame.

In addition, Branden Peters went 2-for-3, with three runs scored and four RBI.

On the pitching side, Stars reliever Cameron Selik gained his first pitching win in more than 15 months at any level after undergoing "Tommy John" arm surgery in early 2007. He allowed one unearned run and three hits in one inning of work, but just stepping out on the mound and pitching again will clear him to officially accept an NCAA Division I college scholarship to the University of Kansass.

Starting pitcher Melvin Blackman allowed just two runs over six innings, while Brian Ritayik garnered the save for the Barona Stars (11-6 overall).

Barona Stars first baseman Brian Sos makes the stretch in an attempt to double-up Gold Sox baserunner Bret Ringer following a fly out to right field in Friday's Horizon Air Summer Series ballgame at All Seasons RV Stadium. Photo by Ana Pimsler/Courtesy, Appeal-Democrat