TUMWATER — Elijah Hill was dealing, and the Thunderbirds rode the momentum to a 7-1 win over W.F. West here Wednesday afternoon in both teams’ Evergreen 2A Conference baseball opener.
Hill struck out nine without allowing a walk, surrendered two hits and faced a three-ball count just twice in the win, and carried a perfect game into the fifth inning.
“He just really dominated the game,” W.F. West coach Bryan Bullock said. “He had all three pitches, he was mixing up his speeds, and he was really throwing strikes. We just really had a hard time breaking his rhythm or getting anyone on to face some adversity for him.”
Hayden Dobyns led off the fifth with a double, and Brandon Davis singled to drive him home, pushing across the Bearcats’ lone run.
Tumwater, however, got a 2-run home run from Tanner Angel in the fourth inning. The T-Birds extended that lead in the fifth, which started when Hill got a single out of a swinging bunt and moved to third when the ball was fielded and thrown into right field — and then scored on a passed ball.
“We came a unravelled a little bit after that,” Bullock said. “Up until that fifth inning it was a pretty well-played game.”
Brody Holcomb started on the mound for Chehalis, going four innings with seven strikeouts, while walking two and giving up two hits for 4 runs.
W.F. West (3-2, 0-1 league) will host Black Hills today and will host Tumwater on Friday.
Wolves Execute to Take Down Tigers, 7-2
TUMWATER — The Tigers were able to scatter nine hits, but couldn't convert those runners into runs in a 7-2 loss to Black Hills here Wednesday in both teams’ Evergreen 2A Conference baseball opener.
"We didn't bunch many of our hits together other than the third and the fifth (innings)," Centralia coach Rex Ashmore said. "After that, there was a scattered single here or there and we just weren't able to put anything together in any other inning to stay with them."
Nolan Wasson went 2 for 4 with an RBI double and Drew Fagerness went 2 for 3 with an RBI single to account for Tigers’ offense.
The Wolves, meanwhile, played error-free ball and made the most of their 10 hits.
"I give them credit," Ashmore said. "They're a tough ballclub and their team executed. They outplayed us in every stretch of that ballgame."
Centralia (0-1 league, 2-1 overall) will travel back to Tumwater this afternoon to face the Thunderbirds.
