Sports Section B
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lyndentribune.com • Wednesday, July 29, 2015
AMERICAN LEGION STATE TOURNAMENT
Post 7 comes up short at state
YOUTH BASEBALL
Lynden U-10 team advances to regional semifinals N. Washington champs finish two wins shy of Cal Ripken World Series By Cameron Van Til sports@lyndentribune.com
Lynden senior-to-be Dalton Ohligschlager is thrown out at home plate while trying to score on a fly ball to left field in the sixth inning of Bellingham Post 7’s 2-0 loss to the Spokane Bandits on Monday, which eliminated Post 7 from the Senior American Legion state tournament. It was Post 7’s best scoring chance on an afternoon when it mustered just four hits. (Cameron Van Til/Lynden Tribune)
Success-filled season comes to close as bats go quiet in final two state tourney games By Cameron Van Til sports@lyndentribune.com
BELLINGHAM — Bellingham Post 7 had opened the Senior American Legion state tournament with a pair of wins, and was fresh off a 14-run outburst in its second game. Then the bats went ice-cold. Post 7 managed just one run and 10 hits combined over its next two games, suffering back-to-back defeats that ended hopes of a state title and regional tournament appearance. Post 7 lost 4-1 to Lakeside Recov-
ery on Sunday and was blanked 2-0 by the Spokane Bandits in Monday’s loser-out contest, finishing fourth in the eight-team tournament, which was held at Bellingham’s Joe Martin Field. Post 7 fell three wins short of a state title and two shy of a top-two finish that would have booked a trip to the regional tournament in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In Monday’s elimination game, Post 7 mustered just four hits off Spokane’s Griffin Davis, who tossed a complete game (all American Legion postseason games are nine innings). Griffin wasn’t overpowering, striking out only two batters all game. But Post 7 hit into routine play after routine play, grounding out 12 times and lofting plenty of easy flyouts. “At times, I think we just tried to do a little too much,” Post 7 head coach Steve Slesk said of his team’s struggles
at the plate. “That’s natural for a high school kid to do and I think that’s kind of what got us today.” Griffin was a familiar foe, as Post 7 had faced him three days prior in Friday’s opening round. In that matchup, Griffin held Post 7 scoreless for five innings, but Bellingham broke through for a 4-2 win, finishing with 11 hits over eight innings off the Spokane pitcher. On Monday, though, the offense never arrived. Post 7’s best scoring chance came in the top of the sixth inning, after Lynden senior-to-be Dalton Ohligschlager crushed a leadoff double over the left fielder’s head and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by the ensuing batter. But Squalicum senior-to-be Ernie Yake flied out to shallow left field and Ohligschlager was nailed at the plate while trying to score on the play. It was one of just two instances all
game that Post 7 had a runner in scoring position, and the lone occasion one had reached third base. Meanwhile, Ferndale senior-tobe Kyler Schemstad kept Post 7 in the game, allowing just two runs in eight innings while scattering eight hits and a walk. “He pitched outstanding,” Slesk said. “He pitched his butt off for us today. He hadn’t pitched in a couple weeks, but he was dialed in. He was real smooth out there and threw a great game. And in a clutch situation, too — it was a hard situation to be in.” Schemstad took a shutout into the seventh inning, when Spokane strung together a leadoff double into the left-center field gap and a line-drive base hit up the middle. Schemstad responded with a strikeout, but the enSee Post 7 on B2
COMMUNITY
Ferndale’s world champion lightweight wrestler Milton Harnden was a fearless competitor on the mat, down-to-earth off it By Cameron Van Til sports@lyndentribune.com
A century ago, professional wrestling was one of America’s most popular sports. And a world champion grew up right here in north Whatcom County. Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in last week’s Pioneering Families special section. FERNDALE — One by one, they would line up. And one by one, in mere minutes, they would be defeated. When Milton Harnden went with traveling carnivals throughout his wrestling years of the 1910s and 1920s, it was quite the spectacle. At each stop, the carnival would announce Harnden’s offer to wrestle anybody in town, and many took him up on the challenge. With a glimpse of the Ferndale wrestler’s 5-foot-5 stature and a robe hiding his broad shoulders and chiseled torso, many would severely underestimate this young man’s abilities. “All the loggers and farmers said, ‘Look at that little runt — we can take care of him,’” said Bob Harnden, of Bellingham, recounting what he’s been told of his great-uncle’s wres-
tling days. Little did the loggers and farmers know that Milton was a highly successful professional wrestler, one who held the world lightweight championship for several years. So one after another, regardless of size, the contestants would try, and fall victim to Milton’s extraordinary wrestling talent. In shockingly quick fashion, the wiry 135-pounder would defeat them in succession, needing only minutes for each, Bob said. For Milton, the path to such wrestling prowess — and the world title — began as a young boy. He was born in Wisconsin in 1888. Shortly after, Milton’s father, a Civil War veteran, moved his family to Ferndale in the brandnew state of Washington. Growing up with a small body and as the youngest in a large family, Milton was at a disadvantage when he and his brothers playfully horsed around, and he often found himself the one getting beat up. One day, Milton decided enough was enough. “It’s not going to happen anymore,” was Milton’s mindset, as Bob recalled. “I’m going to be ready for them next time.” It was that motivation, Bob said, that drove Milton not only to take up wrestling, but to start running and training — for strength exercises, he’d use the 1900s equivalent of dumbbells. “His main reason (for getting into wrestSee Harnden on B2
Ferndale native Milton Harnden won the world lightweight wrestling title in 1917. (Courtesy photo)
WEST LINN, Oregon — The Lynden 10-and-under baseball team advanced to the semifinals of the Cal Ripken Pacific Northwest regional tournament this past week in West Linn, Oregon, before seeing its memorable season come to an end. Lynden, which won the Northern Washington state tournament earlier this month to qualify for regionals, opened with three straight pool-play victories July 23 and 24 to clinch a spot in Saturday’s semifinals. Lynden earned a 9-4 win over Whitefish (Montana) and a 5-0 shutout of Black Hills (Washington) on Thursday, and then edged Bozeman (Montana), 7-6, on Friday. With its semifinal berth secured and up against another undefeated team that had clinched, Lynden played mostly its reserves in its final pool-play game Friday, a 14-3 loss to the West Linn All-Stars. Lynden then suffered a heartbreaking 11-10 loss to Meridian (Idaho) in the semifinals, ending Lynden’s season just two victories shy of a trip to the Cal Ripken World Series in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in August. After a controversial call in the first inning, Lynden played the rest of the game under protest. Battling rainy conditions as well, Lynden fell into a 5-0 first-inning deficit, but rallied in what was a back-and-forth game, coach Dave Ohligschlager said. Trailing 11-10 and down to its final out, Lynden had the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning when Lane Dykstra then “hit a ball probably as hard as I’ve ever seen a 10-year-old hit it,” Ohligschlager said. But the Meridian third baseman made a potentially game-saving play, snagging the liner for the game’s final out. “He reacted,” Ohligschlager said. “He just put his glove above his head about four inches and caught it. “We kind of compared it to a game of inches. If the third baseman is an inch shorter, that ball gets through. Or if that ball is an inch higher, it probably gets through for a three-run triple down the line and who knows where we could be. We could be heading to Arkansas.” Lynden’s success-filled season included three tournament titles at Bender Fields in Lynden, in addition to the team’s postseason accomplishments. “It was very positive,” said Ohligschlager of the year as a whole. “The team did very good as far as improving and all the coaches were impressed with fighting through the adversity (Saturday). The boys just fought and fought and fought. “All in all, it was a very good run. I think they got a little bit of a good taste of it, so we’ll see what happens next year.”