SEATTLE — Sobe-Toyota lost its first three games in the Mickey Merriam Tournament here on Thursday and Friday, but bounced back with a big win Friday night to head into the Fourth of July on a high note.
The Centralia senior American Legion squad will be back at Lower Woodland Park for the rest of the tournament this weekend, though exact times were to be determined late Friday night.
Sobe-Toyota (11-13) will return to regular-season action on Monday with a nine-inning, 5 p.m. game at Spanaway Lake.
Thursday’s Results
En Fuego 10, Sobe-Toyota 3
Centralia got off to a slow start in its tournament opener, falling behind 4-0 after three innings against Seattle’s En Fuego baseball club.
Sobe-Toyota eventually cut the lead to 5-3, but a four-run sixth inning by En Fuego put the game out of reach.
Zeb Chamberlain had two hits and drove in a run for Centralia, while Elijah Johnson added two hits. John Sharkey drove in a run with a double.
Riley Christensen started for Centralia in his first mound appearance in over two weeks, working into the sixth inning.
“I thought he was throwing better than what was getting called,” Centralia coach Jake LeDuc said. “Through five innings it was actually a pretty good ballgame, and all the sudden our strike zone kind of disappeared. It was both ways, but I think we chased a little bit more, offensively, than they did.”
Eastside 9, Sobe-Toyota 6
Eastside Baseball scored six in the top of the sixth inning to erase Centralia’s 5-2 lead and held on for a 9-6 win.
Riley Christensen had three hits, while Gavin Kerner had two hits with a double. Hayden Dobyns added two hits with a double, and J.C. Cleary and Brody Holcomb each had a pair of hits for Sobe-Toyota.
Jacob Cleary pitched well for five innings, Centralia coach Jake LeDuc pointed out.
“Late in the game he got tired, and I probably wasn’t quick enough to go get him out of the game,” LeDuc said. “But he had pitched well enough that he deserved to stay in there.”
Centralia out-hit Eastside, 13-12, in the contest.
“I think we relaxed a little bit, after getting that lead early,” LeDuc said, “like we were going to put these guys away, and we never did.”
Friday’s Results
En Fuego 13, Sobe-Toyota 7
Centralia kept things close with an interesting seven-run third inning, but never led and couldn’t get over the hump in a 13-7 loss to open Friday’s tournament action.
En Fuego knocked 14 hits in the win, while Sobe-Toyota managed just three.
With two outs in the third inning, Centralia’s Max Dulin was hit by a pitch to start a curious rally. Michael Rose followed with a hit, and after four walks and two errors put runners on base and brought runs in, Brady Woodrum hit a single to bring in the final two runs.
“We cut it to 8-7, and they just continued to hit, and we did not,” Centralia coach Jake LeDuc said. “They hit the ball all over the park, and we’re not that deep on the mound.”
Zeb Chamberlain recorded Centralia’s other hit.
Sobe-Toyota 12, Columbia City 1
Centralia finished its second day of the tournament with a 12-1, five-inning win over the Columbia City Reds.
Zeb Chamberlain led the way, knocking three hits and holding Columbia City to just two hits in the five-inning complete-game effort.
“Zeb came out and threw very well,” Centralia coach Jake LeDuc said. “This wasn’t the best team we played up there, but we did what we should have against a team that wasn’t as good as us. We hit the ball all over the park, and we played good defense.”
Chamberlain took a no-hitter into the fourth inning. Hayden Dobyns hit a two-run triple, and Riley Christensen added two hits.
