Prep baseball: Shorewood 3, Lynnwood 2

Published 7:56 pm Friday, April 27, 2012

LYNNWOOD — Christian Heideger hit a two-run single in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and Shorewood held off a late Lynnwood rally to clinch a Wesco 3A district berth.

The Royals had a chance in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. Down 3-2, with runners on first and third and one out, Lynnwood head coach Adam Villalobos decided to call for a suicide squeeze. Unfortunately for the Royals, the hitter failed to make contact and hung the runner on third out to dry.

“(We) got a good pitch to bunt, just couldn’t get it done,” Villalobos said about the play.

Both starting pitchers pitched effectively. Riley O’Brien tossed six innings and struck out four to earn the victory for the Thunderbirds. Lynnwood’s Jordan Silva threw a complete game, earning Villalobos’ praise:

“Jordan did great, he got a lot of leadoff outs and kept them off the basepaths.”

With Everett losing to Meadowdale, the Thunderbirds victory ensured that they can finish no worse then fifth, good enough for a district spot.

Meanwhile, the Royals could have forced a three-way tie for sixth place with a victory, but instead fell a game behind Everett and Oak Harbor for the final playoff spot. Now their fate is no longer in their own hands.

“We’re still in it, we have two big games left,” Villalobos said. “But now we need help from the teams playing Everett and Oak Harbor.”

At Lynnwood H.S.

Shorewood0010020—352

Lynnwood0001001—244

Riley O’Brien, Sam Boone (7) and Christian Heideger. Jordan Silva and Greg King. WP—O’Brien. LP—Silva. Records—Shorewood 8-6 league, 9-9 overall. Lynnwood 4-10, 5-13.