BELLINGHAM — After falling behind two runs in the first, Derrick Mahlum settled down and pitched six scoreless innings, allowing the Wildcats to come back and win their second game of the day 4-2 over Burlington-Edison and move on to the semifinals of the 2A state baseball tournament.
Archbishop Murphy tied it up quickly, scoring one in their half of the first and another in the bottom of the second, but the game was scoreless after that until the sixth when the Wildcats broke through.
“We just stuck with it, hit the ball pretty hard right at ‘em, and eventually some of those fell in.” said Archbishop Murphy head coach Stan Taloff of the comeback.
“Derrick Mahlum did a fabulous job on the mound, and kept them off stride most of the afternoon. We executed really well on offensive plays and defensively turned over a couple of double plays that really made the difference.”
Eric Lawson was the star on offense, getting two of Archbishop Murphy’s four hits, including a double, and driving in a run.
The Wildcats got a little help from the fact that reliever Walker Olis, who came in to pitch the sixth for Burlington-Edison, had finished his team’s game earlier in the day. “His pitch count was getting pretty high. We were able to be selective,” said Taloff.
That can happen on a day when each team has to play two loser-out games to advance.
“This the toughest weekend of the entire high school year. You have to win two to keep going,” said Taloff. “We had to come from behind. I’m really proud of our guys for staying in it and doing that.”
The Wildcats now go to Yakima to face East Valley in the semifinals. The game is May 25 at 4 p.m. at County Stadium.
Asked what he will do to prepare, Taloff said he will get a read on some of the teams they might be playing. He also noted the possibility that if they both win, the Wildcats might play Lynden for the championship. His focus in on his team. “The most important thing at this stage is we take care of ourselves.”
At Joe Martin Stadium
Burlington-Edison2000000—242
Archbishop Murphy1100020—442
Drew Lomsdalen, Walker Olis (6) and Dalton Schwetz. Derrick Mahlum and Alex Galgano. WP—Mahlum (6-0). LP—Lomsdalen. 2B—Eric Lawson (AM) 1, Austin VonHerbulis (B-E) 1, Sid Livingston (B-E) 1. Records—Archibishop Murphy 24-2 overall. Burlington-Edison x-x.
Arch. Murphy 6, Interlake 0
BELLINGHAM — Wildcats starter Levi MaVorhis gave up just two hits and struck out nine batters in a complete-game victory as Archbishop Murphy beat the Saints in a 2A first round game to advance to the quarterfinal game against Burlington-Edison.
Trever Morrison, who finished the game 3-for-4, led off the game with a home run and the Wildcats manufactured a run in the sixth before busting down the door with four runs in the seventh. Zander Clouse had the big blow in the seventh, plating two runs with a double and scoring on Cole Grant’s single over the shortstop’s head.
At Joe Martin Stadium
Archbishop Murphy1000014—673
Interlake0000000—022
Levi MaVorhis and Alex Galgano. Austin Strother, Jason Saff (7) and Sam Finfer. WP—MaVorhis. LP—Strother. 2B—Zander Clouse (AM) 1. HR—Trever Morrison (AM) 1. Records—Archibishop Murphy 24-2 overall. Interlake 15-11.
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