SNOHOMISH — The Glacier Peak baseball team needed a victory on Monday just to assure itself of a playoff berth. The Grizzlies responded with an 8-0 win over Shorewood.
Monday’s victory didn’t just clinch a playoff spot, it meant Tuesday’s game between the same two teams would be for the Wesco 3A South championship.
The Grizzlies didn’t have as easy of a time as they had the day before, but senior Iain Black’s walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Grizzlies a 9-8 win and the league championship.
“It means a lot,” Glacier Peak coach Bob Blair said of winning the championship. “They’ve been the class of the league for so long and they’ve won league title after league title. For us to win a league title and win it against them, it means a lot to our guys. It speaks volumes of (Shorewood head coach) Wyatt (Tonkin) and his program. He’s just got a great program.”
The Thunderbirds had won the league championship in each of the past three seasons and placed second in the 3A state tournament a year ago.
The game appeared destined for extra innings in the bottom of the seventh inning when Shorewood relief pitcher Riley Teeters retired the first two batters, but Colton Bunt’s single down the right-field line put the winning run on base for the Grizzlies. Bunt stole second setting the stage for Black, who singled into center field for the win.
“All I knew is I had Colton Bunt on second base, one of the fastest kids I’ve ever seen,” Black said. “As soon as it got through the infield I knew he was scoring and it was game over. It was a great feeling.”
Bunt scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning on a single by Ryan Ober. Over the next two-plus hours, 15 runs crossed home plate before Bunt scored the game-winner.
Shorewood answered Glacier Peak’s run in the first with two runs in the second inning. It was just the beginning of what seemed like a tug-of-war for momentum.
Glacier Peak scored two in the bottom of the second and took a 3-2 lead on a two-run single by Bunt. Shorewood fired back in the top of the third with a three-run home run by Jake Fredrickson to go on top 5-3. Glacier Peak picked up two more runs in the bottom of the third inning on RBI singles by Nate Sanders and Andrew Sanchez.
Pitching took over in the fourth and fifth inning as neither team allowed a run, but the offenses picked up once again in the sixth inning with the score tied 5-5.
Shorewood regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning with a two-run double by Spencer Jacobs. Another run scored later in the inning on a called third strike that got by the catcher.
The Thunderbirds appeared to be in complete control up three runs and needing just six outs for the league championship, but the Grizzlies continued to be resilient.
Black and Ober each delivered RBI doubles in the bottom of the sixth and the tying run scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Umperovitch.
Glacier Peak relief pitcher Cole Walchenbach walked one batter in the top of the seventh, but retired the other three he faced to give his team a chance to win it in the bottom of the inning.
Black took advantage with perhaps the biggest hit of his high-school career.
“He’s started out down at the bottom of the order and then we moved him up,” Blair said. “He’s just putting the ball in play and letting the ball do the work instead of trying to do too much. It’s nice to have him around.”
Shorewood had several opportunities to pull away, but each time the Grizzlies answered and always kept themselves in the game.
“It speaks to how badly they wanted it and how important it was to them,” Blair said. “They weren’t going to quit. You’re going to have to bury us because we’re not going to quit. We’re going to keep coming and coming and coming.”
The Grizzlies will be the No. 1 seed from the Wesco 3A South and the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming district tournament. Lynnwood is the second seed from the south and Shorewood is third.
Blair said being the top seed won’t matter much once the tournament begins.
“Honestly, with the teams that are in it (it doesn’t matter) a whole lot,” he said. “Anybody can beat anybody and the one seed isn’t guaranteed anything other than you get to host a home game. … With the four teams from the south and the teams from the north, it’s a dogfight.”
At Glacier Peak H.S.
WP: Cole Walchenbach. LP: Riley Teeters. Individual highlights: Shorewood—Jake Fredrickson (1-3, HR, 3 RBI), Spencer Jacobs (2B, 2 RBI); Glacier Peak—Ryan Ober (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Iain Black (2B, 2 RBI, game-winning RBI), Ethan Smith (2B), Colton Bunt (3-4, 2 RBI, game-winning run), Nate Sanders (RBI), Andres Sanchez (RBI). Records—Shorewood 12-6 league, 13-7 overall. Glacier Peak 12-6, 13-7.
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
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