1A Baseball: Warriors Seal 1A Evergreen Title

May 07--MONTESANO -- The Warriors laid claim to the top seed out of the SWW 1A League Evergreen Division -- not to mention the league's regular-season championship -- with a 6-2 victory over Montesano here on Tuesday.

Dustin Wilson went the distance for Rochester and struck out seven while allowing only three walks and two hits. Wilson also went 2 for 5 from the plate and knocked in a run.

"Wilson was in command all day," Rochester coach Jerry Striegel said of the senior right-hander. "He's so important for us."

Josh Larson went 3 for 4 with an RBI for the Warriors. Both Lucas Eastman and Wyatt Singer went 2 for 4 and drove in a run, with Eastman knocking a double.

"We knew that we needed to get the win today and that's exactly what we did," Striegel said.

Rochester clinched the Evergreen's No. 1 seed into the District 4 1A Baseball Tournament with the win. Tenino could still tie the Warriors' 14-4 final league record, by sweeping Hoquiam on Wednesday, but Rochester took two of three games against Tenino, giving the Warriors' the tiebreaker.

Rochester (15-5) will play on its own field -- one of the host sites for the District 4 tournament -- at noon on Tuesday against the No. 4 team from the 1A Trico Division.

Elma Claws Past Tenino on Senior Night

TENINO -- The Beavers put plenty of runners on base, but didn't have as much success moving them home in a 12-5 loss to Elma here Tuesday in SWW 1A League Evergreen Division baseball action.

The loss, combined with Rochester's 6-2 win over Montesano, dashed the Beavers' hopes for a league championship and the top seed into the District 4 tournament.

Tenino knocked eight hits and drew nine bases via walk or hit batter, but left 15 runners stranded in the loss.

"We just could not get the big hit when we needed it," Tenino coach Conner Hogue said. "Their pitchers were throwing strikes, and we just didn't respond the way we should have. Any time you leave 15 runners on base, you're not going to win too many baseball games."

Zeb Chamberlain went 3 for 5 for Tenino and drove in a pair of runs, while Dakota Bellrose was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Thomas Pier went 1 for 1 with a double, but reached base five times.

The game included senior night festivies for Tenino seniors Zack Chamberlain, Cody Cleeves, Nick O'Brien, Braydon Hisaw, and Kellen Miller.

Tenino (14-4, 12-4 league) will play a doubleheader at Hoquiam on Wednesday, starting at 4:30 p.m.

Warhawks Sweep Castle Rock in 20 Innings

TOLEDO -- The Warhawks played 20 innings of baseball and after it was all said and done, Toledo-Winlock used a doubleheader sweep of SWW 1A League Trico Division foe Castle Rock here Tuesday to finish second in the league. Wes Kuzminsky had perhaps the most impressive performance of the day, going 10 innings in a 6-5, 13-inning victory over the Rockets in the first game. He then went 2 for 4 with an RBI in the nightcap -- a 5-3 victory.

"He was great," Toledo-Winlock coach Brian Demarest said. "In 10 innings he went through and walked zero guys. Our starting pitching was great in both games, but Wes going for 130 pitches before we pulled the plug on him was really something."

Toledo-Winlock trailed 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh, before the Warhawks had a 2-run rally to send the thing to extra innings. Five frames of zeroes later, Connor Vermilyea drove in the game-winning run in walk-off fashion.

"Just to battle back like that, when we're so young -- it's great to see how far these kids have come," Demarest said.

Kuzminsky had two hits in the game, as did Gage Madill, Vermilyea and Connor Crawford.

Joel Martin then starred in the nightcap, a 5-3 win that secured the sweep.

Martin hit a 3-run homer in the top of the first and then went on to hold Castle Rock to six hits in five innings of work on the mound. Toledo-Winlock led 4-2 through five innings before adding an insurance run in the top of the seventh.

"Joel goes yard and then he pitched a tremendous game," Demarest said. "You kind of hate to say it, but we're starting to peak at a good time."

Toledo-Winlock (10-4 league, 11-6 overall) allowed just two walks in the 20 innings of action. The Warhawks will play the No. 3 team from the 1A Evergreen Division at Tenino next Tuesday in the first round of the District 4 1A Baseball Tournament.

"It was huge for us. We were sitting in third behind Castle Rock," Demarest said. "Now we have jumped over them for second place. If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that we would have gotten a 2-seed, I would have been thrilled."

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