Prep Baseball: Fagerness Flummoxes Tigers in Flu Game

After a promising start the Centralia offense fell flat here on Monday as W.F. West defeated the Tigers 6-1 in a classic Evergreen 2A Conference baseball tussle.

Daniel Fagerness pitched a complete game for the Bearcats by rationing out one run and five hits. He was also 3-for-4 at the plate with a two-run single in the seventh inning that helped to blow the game open.

Those shining results were a far cry from the condition Fagerness found himself in the hours leading up to his start in the rivalry game.

“I’ve been sick and throwing up all day,” noted the Bearcats’ senior rawhide chucker. “So, pretty good day.”

Centralia got to Fagerness for a hot minute to start the game off when they clustered a pair of hits together for their lone score. Colby Steele did the damage with a double that scored Jeremy Wood.

Wood played counterpart to Fagerness on the mound and preserved a 1-0 lead for the Tigers into the fourth inning when the Bearcats were able to tie the game.

“Jeremy was throwing both pitches for strikes today and he held them in check for the most part until the sixth when they scored on a sac-fly to go up,” said Centralia coach Rex Ashmore.

Derek Beairsto took over for Wood once the Tigers’ starter had reached his pitch quota in the sixth inning and Cameron Cabrera entered the game to extinguish a Bearcat rally in the seventh frame.

More than anything, though, Ashmore noted that his team is mired in an offensive slump.

“We’re just not swinging the bats very well right now. We’ve scored three runs in our last four games combined and you’re not going to win many balls games that way,” Ashmore explained. “If team’s throw strikes against us and don’t make mistakes on defense they are going to have success right now. Somehow we’ve got to find a way to fix it.”

Centralia (10-8, 6-7 league) will play at W.F. West on Tuesday.

Rochester Romps in Road Trip to the Harbor

ABERDEEN — The Warriors scored in every inning here Monday on their way to a 16-4 victory over the Bobcats in Evergreen 2A Conference baseball action.

The victory could have come earlier if not for a letdown of sorts in the fifth inning.

“We had them down 12-0 at one point,” said Rochester coach Brad Quarnstrom. “But it’s OK. We kept playing and got some guys some extra at bats who haven’t gotten a lot up to this point in the season.

Nolan Eyles pitched the first five innings for Rochester and held the Bobcats scoreless for the first four frames. He finished his outing with three strikeouts and four earned runs.

“He threw phenomenal through the first four (innings) and in fact he was at 45 pitches at that point. Then I don’t know if he lost focus or what being up 12-0, but he walked a couple of guys and for whatever reason struggled a little bit with his command,” noted Quarnstrom. “Then Landon Hawes came in as a freshman in his first varsity start and did a great job throwing strikes and getting outs.”

Hawes added three hits and two RBI at the plate to help power Rochester to the league victory.

Tyler Soderback, Rochester’s everyday catcher, made the most of his time unstrapped from the tools of ignorance behind home plate for the Warriors with three hits, including a home run, two runs, and two RBI. Keegan Goldrick added a pair of hits, two RBI, and three runs.

Rochester (8-7, 7-6 league) will host Aberdeen on Tuesday.

Onalaska Comes From Behind to Defeat Toledo

TOLEDO — Onalaska scored all four runs in the final two innings to earn a 4-3 win over Toledo in a non-league baseball game here on Monday.

AJ Volk started on the mound and pitched two innings for the Loggers, allowing three hits and no runs with three strikeouts. Cody Cooper threw the final five innings, allowing six hits, three runs and three walks with nine strikeouts.

Tanner McLean was 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs and a RBI. Kyle Hamilton added a hit and a run and Ashton Haight and Cody Cooper each knocked in a run.

Toledo’s Kaden Sellards pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits, one earned run and three walks with seven strikeouts. He added a double and a run at the plate.

Matt Stavig was 2-for-4 with a double, a run and a RBI. Bryce Marcil was also 2-for-4 with a run and Jesse Towns had a hit and a RBI.

Toledo scored a run in the third for an early lead and added another run in the fifth for a 2-0 advantage. Onalaska gained the lead with three runs in the top of the sixth, but the Indians answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. McLean hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh for the lead once again and held off Toledo in the bottom of the seventh for the win.

Onalaska (11-6, 8-5) will wrap up the regular season on Wednesday, hosting Castle Rock in a non-league game before the District 4 2B tournament begins on Saturday.

Toledo ends the season 4-15 overall and 1-12 in Central 2B League games.

Saturday's Results

Wahkiakum Sweeps Toledo

CATHLAMET — Wahkiakum scored 28 runs in two games to earn a sweep of Toledo in a Central 2B League baseball doubleheader here on Saturday.

The Mules took Game 1 in six innings, 13-3. Hunter Holmes pitched two innings in relief for the Indians, allowing three hits, no earned runs and two walks with one strikeout.

At the plate, Kaden Sellards hit a double and had two RBI and Bryce Marcil and Hunter Eaton each had a hit and a run. Jesse Towns recorded a hit and a RBI.

Wahkiakum’s James Anderson threw a complete game, allowing five hits and no earned runs with nine strikeouts.

Toledo scored three runs in the first inning and scored one run in the second, third and fourth innings to lead 6-3. The Mules plated four runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth to end the game early.

Toledo scored more runs in the Game 2 but the outcome was the same as the Mules won in six innings, 15-5. Matt Stavig had a hit, two runs and a RBI and Marcil had a hit and two runs. Eaton had a hit and two RBI and Towns was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Holmes added a hit and a run for the Indians.

Wahkiakum scored two runs in the second but the Indians tied the game with two runs in the fifth. Toledo added three more runs in the sixth for a 5-2 advantage, but the lead was short lived as the Mules scored 13 runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game.