PASCO — Chehalis started the Washington State 15-Year-Old Babe Ruth Tournament the right way, hanging tough in 80-degree heat — in a game that started at 10 a.m. — to take a 10-5 win over Richland in the tournament’s first pool play contest.
Brennan Casteel hit a single, double and triple in order in his first three trips to the plate and was walked on four straight pitches his fourth time up. He also struck out two of the three batters he faced to close out the seventh inning and end the game.
Cody Schultz and Brad Shumate pitched the first six innings for Chehalis and held Richland to six hits.
“The pitching was good,” Chehalis coach Jon Norman said. “The defense faltered just a little bit, but we actually played pretty good.”
Brad Shumate went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, Schultz was 2 for 2 with a pair of walks, and Dario Jones was 2 for 5.
Levi Taylor came up to pinch-hit in the fifth inning with runners on first and second and delivered a two-RBI double to give Chehalis an 8-3 advantage.
“That was really the dagger in the other team,” Norman said.
Chehalis takes on Hazel Dell at 1 p.m. today in its second pool play game. The teams with the best four pool play records advance to the bracket portion of the tournament, which starts on Thursday.
