Dave Nichols

BOX SCORE

SEATTLE – The Spokane Chiefs and Seattle Thunderbirds came into Saturday’s game fatigued, with both teams having to travel after winning games on Friday.

It is hard to believe, but the regular season will be more than half over after play concludes this week. As the calendar flips to October, the air gets a little bit crisper and league races come more into focus – even if we still don’t know for sure how many teams from the league will qualify for postseason play.

The evolution of slowpitch softball in the state is a story of unmitigated success. Now, after fully entrenching as part of the landscape of fall sports across the state, slowpitch softball programs in the Greater Spokane League want to give back.

Since becoming the paper’s high school sports editor in 2017, I can count on one hand the number of times I have had to miss Friday night football. Last week was one of those times, as I traveled to the fine state of Minnesota to witness my best friend’s wedding.

It appears the Greater Spokane League 4A/3A division this season is made up of a few juggernauts while the rest fight for scraps. Four teams are undefeated after two weeks, four are winless, and two are at .500 with their only wins coming over one of the other struggling teams.

The Cheney Blackhawks football team has had a pretty tough go of it since moving up to the Class 3A ranks and joining the Greater Spokane League. Entering play this year, the Blackhawks had won just seven league games over five seasons, and no more than two in any of those campaigns.

Week 1 is in the books. Across the Greater Spokane League there were a couple of blowouts, a few close games, and some teams showing signs of promise – or struggle – right out of the gate. So, pretty much business as usual.

Pitcher Josh Grosz had struggled in his first five starts since coming to the Colorado Rockies organization in the trade that sent major leaguer Ryan McMahon to the New York Yankees.

EVERETT – Spokane Indians starting pitcher Stu Flesland turned in another terrific performance in a day game on Thursday in Everett. But he was long gone from the game when the AquaSox walked it off in extra innings.