Valley baseball records a win
With spirits high and a shine to the uniforms that only a slide in to a
base would remove, the boys of the Valley Baseball Association took on their
first opponent of the regular season, the Federal Way Hornets, and
soundly defeated them 11-6.
Two batters up and two outs into the game, Luca Bunce hit a single
to shallow center field. Anthony Sanelli then singled to right field behind
first base to set the stage for Chris Brouillette who roped a ball to
left field for a double, scoring two and getting the offensive efforts of
the team underway.
Cody Vermeulen pitched four innings, struck out nine, and only
gave up three runs. Sanelli and Brouillette closed out the game.
Team manager Matt Sanelli was pleased with his team’s
performance due to the aggressiveness of his players’ hitting.
Progress of the team can be found on their Web site at
www.etamz.com/vba. Their home field is in
Carnation with 16 league home games planned. Dates, times and places for game
play are posted on the Web site. The team asks fans to come out and cheer
them on.
Commissioner wins gold
North Bend parks commissioner William Johnson took home
another gold medal from the British Columbia Indoor Archery
Championships held in Parkville, Canada, over the Easter weekend. It was a repeat
for Johnson who won the gold at the same event in 1997.
“This was the most challenging match so far for the 2000
season” Johnson said.
It took sheer determination to win though as Canada’s Michelle
Apollon pulled within eight points. The final score in the 120-arrow match
was Johnson 1068, Apollon, 1060.
Next on Johnson’s schedule will be a trip to New Jersey to compete
in the “Gold Cup,” a nationally ranked tournament, followed by a return
to Canada for the “Canada Cup.”
Johnson is currently working with a small team of people to bring
archery to North Bend. Watch for the opening of the North Bend Outdoor
Archery Range behind Alpine Fitness in late May.
Ben Jones Classic slated
The swank and exciting second annual Ben Jones golf tournament
will be held again this year at the Mount Si Golf Course in Snoqualmie on
July 14, with a shotgun start planned for 8 a.m.
For a $50 registration fee, golfers can have a chance to win a new
Buick or other great prizes. The fee includes lunch, a golf cart and promises a
great time. The proceeds will benefit the Sno-Valley Senior Center in
Carnation.
Individual golfers and foursomes can sign up by calling Isabel Jones
at (425) 333-4436. Businesses can also help out by sponsoring a hole for
$200 each. If interested, call Jones.
Colt team set to start league play
The Snoqualmie Valley Pony Baseball’s Colt team is set to
start league play on Saturday, May 6, at Mount Si High. The first game
is against Kirkland #3 and is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start.
The Colt team consists of 15- and 16-year-old boys from the
Valley. Many of these players were on last year’s team that placed third in
district before being ousted in the state play-offs. With a lot of
experience from last year’s returners and several strong 15-year-old players moving
up from last year’s pony team, coaches Frank Faoro and Keith Schwope
are looking forward to an exciting season of baseball.
This team consists of several players from the junior varsity and
C-teams at Mount Si High. The team will be anchored by Brandon Bumpus,
Dan Baldwin and Garrett Parsons, fresh off a good J.V. season. The team
should have both power and pitching similar to the 1998 pony team, which
consisted largely of this group of boys.
In 1998 the pony team placed first in district and second in state.
Only the Federal Way Magic kept the `98 pony team from earning a chance
to go to the Zone play-offs in California. Keep an eye on this group of
players; they will be attempting to collect some trophies this season.
Rifle club promotes real gun safety through `KidSafe’
Volunteer instructors with the Snoqualmie Valley Rifle Club
(SVRC) are joining their colleagues in at least eight states in a national event
called “Project KidSafe” on Saturday,
May 13.
Project KidSafe is designed to provide home firearm safety training
and child gun safety advice. The SVRC effort will begin at 9 a.m., said
Dave Workman, club president.
According to “Project KidSafe” founder Joe Waldron, the effort is
being sponsored by WeCARE, a coalition representing several gun
safety organizations. Instructors certified by the National Rifle Association
will offer Home Firearms Safety programs and the award-winning Eddie
Eagle Gun Safety programs at various locations.
“While some groups continue demanding more gun control
disguised as `gun safety’ efforts, WeCARE has organized a national effort to
promote real gun safety, as taught by the experts,” Waldron said. “Education
and training are the solutions to gun accidents, not more gun control laws.”
Nationally, firearms-related deaths of youngsters age 15 and under are
at an all-time low. Supporters of “Project KidSafe” give much credit for this
to firearms safety courses, including hunter education, which have
provided training to millions of Americans over the past 25 years.
An instructor involved in coordinating the multi-state event,
Wendell Joost of Redmond, noted, “There will be a chief instructor for each class
conducted at each site. We will conduct the four-hour long NRA Home
Firearms Safety course, which teaches safe gun handling skills, and how to
safely handle, unload and securely store rifles, pistols and shotguns.”
The Eddie Eagle program will be offered where possible. NRA
guidelines require that the Eddie Eagle course for children be offered only
in “neutral” environments, and not on gun ranges.
Project KidSafe events are scheduled in Washington, Idaho,
Indiana, Michigan, Colorado, California, Texas and Virginia.
Pirates pitch past Rainiers
Wednesday, April 26, the Bothell Pirates visited the Valley and
came away with a 10-5 victory over the Sno-Valley Rainiers. Bothell, last
year’s regular season champs, threw some strong pitching and then held off
a rally by the Rainiers to notch the victory. Errors once again were the
demise for the Sno-Valley team.
“You just can’t keep giving your opponent extra outs and expect
to come away with the victory. It just doesn’t happen that way,
especially against a team like the Pirates,”
said coach Warren Sheldon.
Alex Van Oeveran provided the Rainiers with a strong pitching
effort getting the Pirates to hit routine grounders and pop-flies, but the
team just couldn’t make the outs necessary to win.
The team’s pitching will be tested dearly as they play four games in
five days. The coaching staff of Al Landdeck and Sheldon are hoping
that the team can put together seven innings of error-free baseball.
After dropping last week’s game with the Mountlake Terrace Indians,
the Rainiers are 2 and 4.
