OLYMPIA — A solid summer for Chehalis’ Sobe-Toyota squad came to a close here Tuesday with a tight 3-2 loss to Bellingham Post 7 in the American Legion AA State Tournament.
Dillon Smith and Jacob Cleary both stood out for Chehalis in their summer finale. Smith pitched 5 ⅓ innings, scattering six hits and striking out four with one walk, and helped his own cause with a pair of hits and an RBI double in the fourth inning.
Cleary pitched the final 1 ⅔ innings, holding Bellingham hitless and fanning five. He, too, added a pair of hits.
“We were just on the wrong end of a good game,” Chehalis coach Bryan Bullock said. “We could not get those clutch hits to string them together, and they were able to push a couple across.”
Bellingham scored the go-ahead run in the top of the fifth inning. Cameron Tipton hit a leadoff double and scored on a one-out fielder’s choice ground ball by Bunji McLeod.
Kolby Steen went 1 for 3 with a first-inning RBI single for Chehalis.
Sobe-Toyota finished the summer with a 30-5 record.
“It was a great summer. A lot of kids got to have opportunities and develop,” Bullock said, “and as a team I think we took some strides forward that’s going to help out next spring.”
Bullock also thanked I-5 Toyota for its sponsorship and support of the program.
