SHORELINE — Persistence paid off quickly for the Glacier Peak baseball team on Saturday.
After a disappointing first inning that left the Grizzlies trailing 2-0, they managed to turn the ballgame around, starting with a Tanner May solo home run in the second inning. When Dylan Coneza doubled into center field later in the inning, the Grizzlies had rebounded with a three runs and were on their way to a 12-3 victory over Lynnwood in the 3A District 1 Tournament at Shorecrest High School.
The Grizzlies capitalized on their scoring opportunities throughout the game, especially in the sixth inning when they batted through the line-up and scored six runs.
“That’s one of the things we’ve done well this year,” Glacier Peak coach Bob Blair said. “It’s contagious when we start hitting. Sometimes we’ll struggle with it for that first hit, but once we get the first hit, they seem to follow one right after another.”
The Grizzlies’ sixth inning eruption began with Lance Foster’s RBI single to center field. A couple batters later, Dane Larsen hit a ground-rule double that scored Foster. Kevin Campbell hit an RBI line drive single to left field and he later scored on James Tuba’s sacrifice fly. The inning wrapped up with a bobbled catch in center field that allowed more two runs to score.
For Glacier Peak, May batted 2-for-2 with two runs scored, Foster hit 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI and Connor Strong added two runs and two RBI.
Blair praised Larsen, who hit two doubles, including an RBI double in the third inning, and knocked in a total of three runs.
Although Glacier Peak pitcher Nick Garner started off rough by allowing two runs to score in the first inning, he recovered to pitch a complete game and only gave up one other run in the rest of the way.
“They just out-hit us,” Lynnwood coach Adam Villalobos said. “They had some good at-bats and we didn’t pitch that great. They just out-hit us and out-played us.”
Lynnwood struggled with pitching. Starter Jordan Silva allowed five runs on six hits.
Josh Cabral has a good game at the plate for the royals, batting 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
In the first inning, Cabral hit a RBI single to score the first run of the game and give the Royals the early lead. Later in the inning, Garner loaded the bases and allowed Lynnwood to score again.
Glacier Peak plays Shorecrest on Tuesday at Sherman Anderson Ball Field in Mount Vernon. The winner of that game advances to the 3A District One Championship.
“At this point, we’re just happy to be here and we’re happy to play whoever shows up,” said Blair, whose team beat Shorecrest twice in the regular season. “I told the boys all along when you get to this point in the season everyone is good and you don’t look for one team over another because anyone could beat you.”
The Royals have one more chance to extend their season when they play Ferndale on Tuesday at Shorecrest High School.
“We hope to bounce back and get a ‘W,’” said Villalobos. “This 3A playoff is pretty much wide open. There isn’t an overpowering team in it.”
At Shorecrest H.S.
Lynnwood2000100—363
Glacier Peak031206x—12142
Silva, Shaw (4), Samuelson (6) and Stanley.Garner and Tuba.WP—Garner.LP-Silva.2B-Larsen (GP) 2, Caneza (GP), Cabrel (L). HR-May (GP). Records—Lynnwood 1-20. Glacier Peak 12-9.
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