PREP BASEBALL
Tenino 4, Elma 1
Too many errors and too many walks led to Elma’s 4-1 loss to Tenino in a rain-shortened game Monday in Tenino.
Despite giving up just one hit in the contest, Elma starter Brody Rustemeyer was tagged with the loss after allowing seven walks while striking out two.
Elma’s defense committed three errors in the contest, leading to two unearned Tenino runs.
Down 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning, Elma scored its lone run of the game when Rustemeyer, who was aboard with a leadoff walk, came home on a fielder’s choice ground ball off the bat of Carter Jacobson.
Elma (4-10, 1-6 Evergreen 1A) hoped to end its four-game losing streak when it traveled Wednesday for a game at Forks, but that game ended too late for this edition.
Montesano 3, Elma 0
Montesano won a close pitcher’s duel with a 3-0 victory over the Elma Eagles on Friday in Elma. The win was Montesano’s eighth in a row.
Bulldogs starter Trace Ridgway earned a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits with seven strikeouts to just one walk for the Bulldogs (13-2, 7-0 Evergreen 1A).
Ridgway’s counterpart, Elma starting pitcher Cobey Moore, was the hard-luck loser. Moore allowed three earned runs on six hits while striking out six in seven innings pitched.
The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning when Monte got a pair of runs on Shaydon Farmer’s two-out double to left field.
Monte added a run in the fifth when Carter Olsen, who was aboard on a leadoff double, came home on a single from Aaron Lano.
Montesano now owns a two-and-a-half game lead in the league standings over Hoquiam. Monday’s game between Hoquiam and the Bulldogs in Montesano was rescheduled to 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Hoquiam after the Grizzlies play Forks.
Montesano 000 210 0 — 3 6 0
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
Montesano 9, Forks 2
Montesano got a 9-2 victory over Forks in a 1A Evergreen League matchup on April 17 in Montesano.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead when left fielder Shaydon Farmer belted a double to right field, scoring Parker Plato and Payson Parker in the bottom of the first inning.
Montesano starting pitcher Cyrus Parsons cruised through the first three innings, allowing just one base hit over the first nine outs.
But Parsons ran into trouble in the top of the fourth as Forks mounted a comeback. Spartans first baseman Trey Baysinger led off the inning by driving a home run over the left field fence.
With two out in the inning, Parsons ran into more trouble, loading the bases when he hit Logan Olson with a pitch.
Montesano head coach Mike Osgood brought in sophomore Jack Anderson to relieve Parsons and, after allowing Forks to score its second run of the inning via a passed ball, Anderson struck out Tyler Wood to end the frame with the tying run on third base.
Monte’s one-run lead was short-lived, however, as the Bulldogs responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to extend the lead to 6-2, the big blow coming off a two-out, two-run single off the bat of Payson Parker.
That was all the run support Anderson would need, as he held Forks scoreless over the final three innings, striking out six while allowing just one hit to close out the game.
Montesano relief pitcher Jack Anderson struck out seven and allowed just one hit in 3 1/3 shutout innings against Forks on Wednesday in Montesano. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
“Jack was awesome out there,” Osgood said. “He came in a stressful environment and pitched well. He really shut them down and blocked them in. Jack was a huge part of this victory tonight.”
“One of the things I’ve been taught throughout my lifetime was to throw strikes,” Anderson said of his ability to stay poised in pressured moments. “In that moment, I was just having fun. … Whatever I do throughout the game, just have fun and throw strikes. That’s what I keep in my mind every single time I’m on the mound.”
The Bulldogs added three more insurance runs in the top of the sixth on run-scoring singles from Anderson and Braden Dohrmann.
“(The run support) gives me more time to relax and I don’t have to think too much because I know (my teammates) have my back,” Anderson said of the extra cushion. “And when they have my back, I feel more confident and relaxed and we have more fun. That seems to be the main mood throughout the game once we start getting those runs and are helping each other out.”
Osgood liked what he saw in his team’s ability to get timely hits coming off Tuesday’s thrilling 2-1 win over Hoquiam.
“I think early on, coming off the emotional win against Hoquiam, we came out a little flat,” Osgood said. “But once they realized they were in a ballgame, they kind of turned it up a gear and had much better plate approaches and it showed.”
Parsons earned the win, allowing two earned runs on three hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Anderson recorded the save, giving up just one hit while striking out seven in 3 1/3 innings.
Five Monte batters recorded multi-hit games, led by Farmer, who went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBI.
Grays Harbor News Group Montesano outfielder Shaydon Farmer gets a hit Wednesday against Forks in Montesano.
Plato, Lano, Dohrmann and Ben Wills each had two hits in the game in addition to Farmer.
Forks 000 200 0 — 2 4 3
Montesano 300 303 x — 9 12 2
WP — Parsons (3.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, K); LP — Carson Ness (4 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 5 BB, K); SV — Anderson (3.1 IP, 0 R, H, 7 K, 2 BB)
Top Players: Montesano — Farmer (2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI); Plato (2-4, 2 R); Wills (2-3, R); Dohrmann (2-2, RBI); Lano (1-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI); Payson Parker (1-2, R, 2 RBI); Anderson (1-2, 2 RBI); Evan Bates (1-3, 2 R)
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
Montesano 2, Hoquiam 1
A snap throw down to second base by Montesano catcher Parker Plato thwarted Hoquiam’s late-game comeback attempt and allowed the Bulldogs to secure a 2-1 victory over the Grizzlies on April 16 at Olympic Stadium.
Montesano was protecting a 2-1 lead with two outs and two on in the bottom of the seventh.
Hoquiam used an infield single and a walk to put runners on first and second with Payton Quintanilla at the plate with the potential tying and winning runs on base.
Nearing his pitch count limit, Montesano’s Evan Bates went for the strikeout against Quintanilla and attempted to get him to chase a fastball up and out of the zone.
Bates pitch photo
Plato had made a throw down to second base earlier in the at bat and made another attempt to pick off Hoquiam’s Joel Emery.
Plato’s second pick off throw to second caught Emery wandering too far away from the base as he was tagged out by Carter Olson to end the game.
“Hoquiam had their best batter up in that situation and the guy got a little far out there and Parker made a great throw,” Montesano head coach Mike Osgood said. “That wasn’t anything called from the dugout, the guys did that on their own and it worked out.”
Hoquiam head coach Steve Jump said he didn’t want to see his base-runners get too aggressive with their leads with Quintanilla at the plate.
“In that situation, with one of your best hitters up you want a good secondary lead but not an overly-aggressive secondary lead,” he said. “You’re assuming (Quintanilla) is going to hit one through and you’re going to score.”
Plato’s pick-off play punctuated the win that put Montesano in sole possession of first place in the league, but it was Evan Bates’ pitching that led the way for Monte.
Bates pitched a complete game and struck out 10 in Tuesday’s low-scoring affair. The senior hurler was in control for most of the evening despite a steady rain that made for muddy conditions on the infield.
Bates said he had a good feeling going into this one despite the precipitation.
“In the beginning of the game I was feeling all three of my pitches. The weather dictated what the ball was like and I couldn’t get as big of a grip, but I felt confident in my stuff,” he said.
The rain was constant and both pitchers did what they could to put a damper on opposing batters.
Hoquiam starter Zach Elsos pitched 5 1/3 innings and scattered three hits while surrendering two earned runs.
Elsos pitch photo
Bates nearly had a shutout until Hoquiam’s Liam Odell hit a line-drive single to right in the sixth inning to drive in Kyle Larsen for the Grizzlies’ only run of the night.
Both of Montesano’s runs came off the bat of Cyrus Parsons, who hit a double over Caden Templer’s head in left field to drive in a run in the fourth.
Parson drove in another run with a single up the middle in the sixth, allowing Payson Parker to score from second.
Bates said it was easy to relax on the mound with his teammates making plays in the field and coming up with timely hits.
“We had a good plate approach when we had guys on base. Big shout out to Cyrus Parsons for getting our two RBI,” he said. “I’m also thankful for the plays made defensively behind me. We have some good infielders and some good outfielders. I’m thankful for what I got behind me.”
Jump was hoping to see his team take advantage of having runners in scoring position on a night where the Grizzlies got 11 runners on base.
“I just think we need to see more production from the bottom of our order. We got five guys really hitting right now and we need to see a few more,” he said. “(Montesano) got it done and we didn’t get it done with guys in scoring position. We failed three or four times with guys in scoring position.”
With the Grizzlies and Bulldogs set to face each other again before the end of the regular season, Bates said it’s important for his team to stay focused and keep the same energy for the rest of the schedule.
“It’s a big win but we’re not even halfway done with league yet,” he said. “We have to keep coming out here with the same approach where we battle for every run and every out. This helps our confidence, but nothing changes, we’re still going to be aggressive.”
Montesano 000 101 0 – 2 4 2
Hoquiam 000 001 0 – 1 7 1
WP – Bates (CG, 10 K, 7 H, BB); LP – Elsos (5.1 IP, 4 K, 3 H, 5 BB)
Top Hitters: Montesano – Parsons (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI); Hoquiam – Jackson Folkers (2-4), Odell (RBI)
— Hasani Grayson, Grays Harbor News Group
