Prep baseball: Archbishop Murphy 8, Bellingham 0

Published 2:21 pm Saturday, May 9, 2015

ANACORTES — Connor Sand pitched a two-hit shutout and Austin Earl hit a three-run home run as Archbishop Murphy opened the 2A District baseball playoffs with a win over Bellingham at Volunteer Park.

Sand (7-1), who struck out two and walked one, needed just 72 pitches to throw his fourth shutout of the season.

The Wildcats led 3-0 after four innings, then blew the game open with five runs in the fifth. The big hit was Earl’s three-run blast to left field, his second HR of the season. Also for Murphy, Joe Damitio was 2-3 with an RBI, and JT Burtsche was 2-4 and drove in a run.

Murphy (17-4) advances to a semifinal matchup on Tuesday against either Squalicum or Burlington-Edison.

At Volunteer Park

Bellingham 000 000 0 — 0 2 2

Archbishop Murphy 100 250 x — 8 9 1

Brad Johnson and Dante Check. Connor Sand and Ernie Gamboa. WP—Sand (7-1). LP—Johnson. HR—Austin Earl (AM). Records—Bellingham 9-12. Archbishop Murphy 17-4.