Legion Baseball: I-5 Toyota Sweeps Vancouver

I-5 Toyota won a pitchers duel in Game 1 while the bats got hot for Game 2, as I-5 Toyota was able to sweep a legion baseball league doubleheader against Vancouver at Ed Wheeler Field on Tuesday.

“Defensively, we played really well. We faced a tough guy in the first game but Brandon White was lights out,” I-5 Toyota coach Tom Grunenfelder said. “Dakota (Hawkins) threw a nice ballgame in Game 2. Take away the 2-run home run and they didn’t really do much. Our bats really came alive in the second game.”

In Game 1, I-5 Toyota was led by the pitching performance of Brandon White, throwing all seven innings while allowing one hit and two walks while striking out seven batters.

At the plate, Gabe O’Neil had a double and the only run of the game. Lane Douglass had the only RBI of the game in the fifth inning.

Teegan Zillyet, Bryce Lollar and Max Miller each had hits for I-5 Toyota.

White gave up his lone hit in the second inning, but was perfect after that. Zillyet led off the fifth inning with a double, followed by Lollar’s single to advance Zillyet.

Douglass came up two batters later and was able to bring Zillyet home. White shut the door the rest of the way, which included three straight groundouts to Lollar at third base in the seventh.

In Game 2, I-5 Toyota had 12 hits to end the game in six innings in a 13-3 victory.

Dakota Hawkins started on the mound for I-5 Toyota, throwing all six innings while allowing two earned runs, six hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.

At the plate, Douglass was 2 for 3 with three runs, an RBI and two walks and Nole Wollan was also 2 for 3 with a run, an RBI and two walks.

Lollar was 2 for 3 with a double, three runs and an RBI and Max Miller was 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs.

“Baseball’s one of those deals, a couple guys get hits and it kind gets everybody else going but nobody gets hits and everyone’s kind of forcing it up there,” Grunenfelder said. “The guy threw a nice ballgame against us and we were lucky enough to scratch out a run.”

Vancouver started off the first inning with a 2-run home run, but I-5 Toyota answered with two runs of their own to tie the game and added a run in the second inning on a RBI-single by Douglass.

The Cardinals tacked on a run in the top of the fourth to tie the game once again, but I-5 Toyota answered in the bottom of the inning with Douglass scoring on a passed ball.

I-5 Toyota broke the game open in the fifth inning, scoring five runs, including an RBI-doubles by Hawkins and Lollar and a 2-RBI single from Miller.

The game ended in the bottom of the sixth, as Teegan Zillyet hit a 2-RBI double. Wollan stepped up next and ripped the ball down the third base line to score another, and Hawkins hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Zillyet to end the game.

Vancouver made eight errors in Game 2 to help I-5 Toyota seal the sweep.

I-5 Toyota plays in the Red Devil Classic July 19-22 at Wheeler Field in Centralia before the Twin Cities host the state legion baseball tournament July 27- Aug. 2.