The Bearcats made a senior night rally, but it was a bit too late after spotting Prairie 11 runs over the first three innings in a 14-10 nonleague loss in Chehalis on Friday afternoon.
W.F. West pounded out 13 hits and had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, but couldn’t overcome the Falcons’ hot start.
“This week we’ve done a pretty good job at the plate and it was nice to see some guys continue that and sting the ball,” W.F. West coach Bryan Bullock said. “But obviously you can’t spot a team 11 runs. That’s pretty tough to overcome.”
The Falcons strung together a walk, a hit batter and four hits for 5 runs in the first inning, added 2 with three more hits in the second, and pushed across 4 more in the third on another three hits for an 11-0 lead.
“I don’t think we were very focused to compete,” Bullock said of the first three innings. “Obviously we didn’t throw enough strikes to get ahead of hitters, and defensively we made a few miscues that they took full advantage of.”
The Bearcats finally woke up in the bottom of the third, getting a double from Elijah Johnson and a 2-run double by Brandon Davis. They kept clawing back, with 2-run doubles by Hayden Dobyns and Davis in the fourth and an RBI single from Michael Rose in the fifth.
“I think part of it was, we realized we were going to get badly embarrassed, and some kids finally started stepping up and realizing that maybe this was their last home game that we were going to play,” Bullock said. “Our focus started in that third inning. We got a little more attentive, and we started stringing some hits together and putting some pressure on them.”
W.F. West still trailed 14-7 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Singles by Dakota Hawkins and Hunter Fuchs and a walk put runners on base, and a two-out single from Johnson brought in the first run. Dobyns was hit by a pitch to bring in another, and an error on a ground ball brought the tying run to the plate before the rally ended.
Hawkins finished the game 3 for 4, while Johnson was 2 for 4. Davis and Fuchs each had two hits.
W.F. West (9-9, 3-5 in Evergreen 2A Conference play) will wrap up the league season on Monday at rival Centralia. The Bearcats can seal third place in the final EvCo standings with a win, while Centralia can seal first with a win.
Note: It was the final regular-season home game for Bearcat seniors Davis, Rose, J.C. Cleary, J.T. Yarter, Daniel Blomdahl, Ryan Steepy and Jeffrey Tereski.
Centralia Falls to Kelso in 10th
KELSO — The Tigers got nearly 10 innings from Riley Christensen and almost pulled off a victory over 3A Kelso before falling, 6-5, in nonleague baseball action here on Friday. The teams were knotted at 4 runs apiece after seven innings and that’s how it would stay until the Tigers took a 1-run lead in the top of the tenth.
Kelso, however, responded with a 2-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the frame for the victory.
“I couldn’t be more happy with how we played,” Centralia coach Rex Ashmore said. “Defensively, all the way around, the kids played very well. Kelso is a good ballclub and they swing the bats well.”
Ashmore added that shortstop Nolan Wasson and center fielder Gavin Kerner each had outstanding defensive games. At the plate, Kerner was 3 for 5 with a double while Wasson was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs.
Jake Sutton — who also came in to relieve Christensen in the 10th — was 2 for 4 at the plate.
“Riley pitching into the 10th, we didn’t envision that,” Ashmore said. “I mean, he can go deep into the games but that was impressive. At one point in the game he retired 13 guys in a row.”
The teams combined for 23 total hits.
Centralia (11-6) hosts Evergreen 2A Conference foe W.F. West on Monday, and can seal first place in the final EvCo standings with a win.
