The Jr. Flames finished with a 12-12 record in CWL play (22-19 overall) to earn the sixth seed in the divisional tournament.  Three of the eight teams in the double-elimination tournament will advance to the American Legion state tournament in Spokane/Cheney. 

Update July 18, 2009: Flames win in first round

The Jr. Flames won their first round game in the Division VI tournament, upsetting the #3 seed Walla Walla Bruins by a 2-0 score.  The game was well played on both sides, but the Flames put together three hits in the fourth inning, sparked by a leadoff triple by Riley Shintaffer, to push across the decisive runs.  Dan Scheibe pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out six Bruin batters with no walks.  The Flames had several outstanding defensive plays to preserve the shutout.  They will next face the #2 seed and host Kennewick Dusters at 1:00 pm on Sunday, July 19.

Update July 19, 2009: Flames State tournament hopes still alive after comeback win

The Jr. Flames lost to the Kennewick Dusters 5-1 in the first game of the day, which forced them into a loser-out rematch with the Walla Walla Bruins.  In the second game, Hanford's bats were silent until the bottom of the fifth, when they batted through the order and scored six to take a 6-3 lead.  The Flames tacked on two more in the sixth and held on for an 8-3 victory. Max Wood and Garrison Becker shared pitching duties in the win. The Jr. Flames will take on the Dusters again tomorrow, and need two wins over the Dusters to clinch a berth at State.  

Update July 20, 2009: Flames lose to Dusters, will play in loser-out game tomorrow 

The Jr. Flames and Dusters played a close game but the Dusters prevailed by one run in a 5-4 loss for the Flames.  The Dusters earned the #1 seed to state with the win, and the #2 seed was clinched by the Yakima Valley Peppers when they defeated the Kennewick Bandits in the day's other game.  The Flames will face off against the Bandits tomorrow in a loser-out game that will determine the third and final spot in the state tournament.

The Jr. Flames defeated teams from Ferris and East Valley (Spokane) and Latah County (Moscow, Idaho), then lost to tournament host Mt Spokane to go 3-1 in pool play and earn the second seed.  In the semifinal game against Coeur d'Alene, the Flames were stymied through the first six innings and trailed 1-0 going into the bottom of the sixth.  CDA advanced a runner to third with one out and tried to squeeze him home, but the bunt was popped up and the runner doubled up to end the inning.  In the top of the seventh, the Flames successfully executed squeeze plays of their own twice to push across the go-ahead runs, then held on for the 2-1 victory.  The finals were a rematch between Mt Spokane and Hanford, and this time the Flames came out on top by a score of 8-2 to take first place.  The team photo with "Champions" t-shirts is below.  Congratulations Jr. Flames on your second tournament championship of the season!

The Jr. Flames went 3-0 in pool play, defeating the Kennewick Phantoms (5-1), Kennewick Babe Ruth (21-5) and the Mt. Rainier Big Horns (10-0).  In the semifinal game, the Flames won 8-7 over the Burbank Diamondbacks in a hard-fought game that ended with a strikeout on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded. In the final, the Flames battled the Jr. Bandits to an 8-8 tie after 7 innings, with the Bandits tying the game on a clutch single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.  After a scoreless eighth inning for both teams, the Flames scored three runs in the ninth and held on for an 11-9 extra-inning win to take the championship. The team photo with the championship plaque is below. Congratulations Jr. Flames!