Youth ball: Jayhawks, Granite win opening games

Justin Rinta hit a grand slam, drove in five runs and scored three times, leading the Vancouver Jayhawks to an 11-1 win in their opening game at the Southern Washington Senior Babe Ruth Tournament at Louis Bloch Park in Camas.

Will Pecson had a double and drove in two runs as the Jayhawks beat the Burbank Diamondbacks. The Jayhawks will play the Hoquiam Hawks at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Nathan Lauritzen had a double and run scored, and Tyler Odenthal added two doubles, a run and an RBI as Camas-Washougal Granite defeated Aberdeen 3-1.

The double-elimination tournament involves nine teams — four from Clark County – of age 16-18 players.

The top two teams from this tournament advance to the Senior Babe Ruth Pacific Northwest Regional.

Friday’s schedule starts at 9 a.m. with a loser-out game between Prairie Hardball and the Vancouver Redbirds. There are also loser-out games at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday, and winner’s bracket games at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The daily admission price is $5, $3 for students.

In other Thursday games, Hamer Electric of Longview topped Prairie Hardball 14-3. Hoquiam got the best of the Vancouver Redbirds 5-2.