2A Baseball: Tigers Split With Wolves in Belated Opener

Posted

The Tigers practiced for 27 days without a game, so when the first official pitch of the season was in the books on Thursday afternoon they weren’t in any hurry to leave Ed Wheeler Field.

At least, not according to the box score.

Centralia opened its baseball season by splitting a pair of Evergreen 2A Conference games with Black Hills, losing 8-4 in nine innings and then beating the Wolves 6-5 in 11 innings.

The Wolves scored five in the top of the ninth inning to win the opener, piling up 11 hits in the victory.

Nate Hutson hit a two-run single to highlight the final inning for Black Hills.

“We actually had an opportunity to get out of it only giving up a couple, and we couldn’t make a play at second with two outs that gave them three more,” Tiger coach Rex Ashmore said of the final frame. “At the time it didn’t look real big, but when we score a run in the bottom of the ninth and have the bases loaded, it comes back to where we could have put a little pressure on them.”

Centralia had a runner on second with no outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, but couldn’t get a bunt down to move the runner further.

Hodges Bailey went 2 for 5 and drove in a run for Centralia, while Noah Thomas started on the mound and worked into the seventh inning, allowing just one earned run.

“The entire game, for the most part, we played terrible defense and didn’t execute anything at the plate when we had opportunities to,” Ashmore said.

The nightcap, though, was a bit more favorable for the Hub City fans.

Centralia led 5-4 after three innings, but Black Hills relief pitcher Eric Jordan came on in the fifth, walked a batter and then retired 16 straight Tigers — with five strikeouts — while his teammates scored a run in the top of the seventh to push things into extra innings.



Finally, in the bottom of the 11th, Nat Lopez, Isaiah Trevino, Bailey and Joey Aliff all singled to push across the walk-off run.

“It was a long day,” Ashmore said, pointing out that after caring for the field the team didn’t leave the park until about 11 p.m. “I guess if you’re going to practice for 27 days, you’re going to play three games in one night.”

Bailey was 3 for 6 with an RBI, Jerod Frias was 2 for 5 with an RBI and Lopez finished 3 for 5 with an RBI for Centralia.

Broc Selstrom started on the mound and struck out eight with a walk in 6 ⅔ innings.

Friday’s Results

Tigers Head to Spring Break With Win Over Bobcats

ABERDEEN — Joseph Pineda drove in four runs, and Centralia followed up a long Thursday at the park with a 5-1 Evergreen 2A Conference road win over the Bobcats here Friday.

Pineda went 2 for 3 with a two-run single in the third and an RBI double in the Tigers’ two-run fourth inning. Erik Cervantes went 2 for 3 for Centralia, which had eight hits in the win.

Jeremy Wood struck out three with two walks and seven hits in a complete-game effort for the Tigers.

“For being a freshman in his first varsity outing he did very well,” Centralia coach Rex Ashmore said. “For the most part, defensively, we were much better than we were last night.”

Centralia (2-1, all league) plays a nonleague game at Shelton on Thursday.