BELLINGHAM – Ten minutes before his LaCenter team faced Lakewood in the Region I final, coach Herm VanWeerhuizen looked across the field at the Lakewood team and said, “Those kids can hit.”
The Cougars proved that they could do a lot more than hit in the course of their 7-0 win Saturday at Martin Stadium. The senior-laden team pounded out 10 hits, stole six bases, played stingy defense, and Brandon Stauffer and Alex Thomas combined for a two-hit shutout.
Ronnie Morton was 3-for-3 to lead the offense with two doubles, one home run and five RBI.
Morton said his 3-for-3 game was due in part to the LaCenter pitcher, “He threw a lot of the same stuff. High curves,” Morton modestly said.
Morton was helped by having leadoff man Jake Rife on base creating havoc for the opposing pitcher nearly every time Morton came to the plate. Rife was 2-for-3 with a walk, four steals and two runs scored.
“Jake is the straw that stirs the drink,” Lakewood coach Larry Delaney said. “He just did his job to get on base.”
Rife got the offense going early by walking on four pitches to lead off the game. He promptly stole second base and advanced to third on an infield out by Stouffer. Catcher Tracy Wammack drove Rife home with a hard single down the left field line, putting LaCenter in a hole it was never able to get out of.
The Cougars scored their second run of the game in the second inning on a solo home run deep over the left field wall by Morton.
In the third inning, Lakewood scored four runs. Rife singled, then stole second and third base and was driven home by a Stauffer single. Wammack reached on a fielder’s choice and went to third on a hit-and-run by Kyle Westley. Jacob Bruns was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Morton stepped into the batters box and blooped a double to right.
Delaney said that over the past five games, somebody always seems to come through in the clutch.
Rife said, “We have enough people who can play ball, if somebody struggles, somebody else steps up.”
In an earlier playoff game Saturday, Westley was one of the players who stepped up. The senior was 2-for-3 with a double and RBI in a 2-1 win over the Orting Cardinals.
Scoring was sparse as Cougar sophomore Ryan Martin pitched a two-hitter and notched the game-winning RBI in a head-to-head match-up with Orting’s ace, Jesse Nunley.
Lakewood got on the board in the second inning. Westley hit a lead-off double off the center field wall and was later driven home from third on a Morton single.
A lead-off double by Orting’s Tyler Anderson led to a run in the fifth inning.
“I just served it up,” Martin said. “I just pitch and let them (Orting) put the ball in play. I let my team take care of it from there.”
Lakewood took the lead right back in the bottom of the fifth on a double by Martin, which scored Collin Murphy from first. Only one Cardinal reached base for the rest of the game.
In the first playoff game Saturday, LaCenter beat Archbishop Murphy 2-1 on a single in bottom of the seventh inning.
Murphy’s starting pitcher, sophomore John-Paul Blair, was in a bases-loaded no-outs jam in the bottom of the first inning, but struck out the side. He finished the game with 11 strikeouts.
Blair was unable to perform his bases-loaded escape again. Entering the seventh, Murphy was leading 1-0 and Blair was cruising. With two outs, the wheels fell off the cart for him. A walk, hit batsman and single loaded the bases. A walk then tied the score. Chris Mitchell came into the game in relief, but gave up the game-winning single.
Lakewood’s win sends them them to Yakima Friday, June 3, to play Chewelah in the state semifinals.
Game One
A-M0000100-133
LaCenter0000002-231
Blair and Burch. Williamson, C. Mitchell (7) and Gandy. WP-Williamson (7-2). LP-Blair. Records-Archbishop Murphy 15-10 overall.
Game Two
Orting0000100-122
Lakewood010010x-231
Nunley and Kuebler. Martin and Wammack. WP-Martin (6-0). LP-Nunley (6-1). 2B-Westley (L) 2, Martin (L), Anderson (O). Records-Orting 16-5 overall.
Game Three
Lakewood1140100-7101
LaCenter0000000-022
Stauffer, Thomas (5) and Wammack. Calnan and Gandy. WP-Stauffer (6-0). LP-Calnan (2-2). 2B-Morton (L) 2. HR-Morton (L). Records-Lakewood 22-4 overall. LaCenter 13-11-1.
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