W.F. West senior Logan Moore tossed an 11-strikeout one-hit gem and the Bearcats’ offense delivered the fireworks in an 11-1, run-rule victory over Ridgefield in six innings during a 2A District IV tournament opener at home on Tuesday.
Moore tossed five shutout innings, allowing just three walks while keeping the Spudders off-balance all day. He even helped his own cause at the plate, going 2 for 4 with two runs, and an RBI while crushing a solo shot over the centerfield fence in the fourth inning.
“It feels great to get the first one,” Moore said. “We lit it up. We haven’t been hitting all season but we hit when it mattered.”
The Spudders did plate one run in the top of the first after a couple walks followed by an error, but after that it was all Bearcats.
“We were a little tight at the start of the game,” W.F. West coach Bryan Bullock said. “Logan settled in after that first inning, which is exactly what we needed. After he settled in and took some nerves out of the rest of the guys, we started swinging the bats like we’re capable of.”
W.F. West took the lead for good in the third when junior first baseman Gavin Fugate ripped an RBI single then later stole home plate on a passed ball to put the Bearcats up 2-1 — sparking a five-run inning.
Second baseman Braden Jones then stole home on a passed ball to make it 3-1, followed by Deacon Meller scoring on a dropped third strike to go up 4-1. Evan Stajduhar then crushed an RBI double to the left field wall to complete the five-run third inning.
Moore kept the momentum going in the fourth, hitting a solo homer to centerfield to put W.F. West up 7-1.
“I’ve been in a little slump the past couple weeks and it felt good to finally hit one,” Moore said.
After another scoreless inning for Ridgefield, Stajduhar collected another RBI, this time a triple to score Ross Kelley from first base, putting the score at 8-1 after five innings.
Jeron Martin pitched the top of the sixth for W.F. West, striking out two batters and allowing no hits and no walks.
In the sixth, Jones smacked an RBI single to score Fugate, making it 9-1. Stajduhar got his third RBI after getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded later in the sixth, then Riggs Westlund hit the walk-off single to seal the run-rule victory.
The Bearcats combined for eight hits on offense and drew four walks.
“It was a total team contribution,” Bullock said. “I believe just about everybody was on base at some point. We have some athleticism and if we can get on base, we can put pressure on the catcher and pitcher.”
Ridgefield’s lone hit came from pitcher Dillon Kirksey, who went four innings on the mound, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks with seven Ks. Reed Fry scored the Spudders’ run.
Now the Bearcats will face Greater St. Helen’s League champion Columbia River in the district semifinals at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Ridgefield. The winner gets an automatic bid to regionals. The loser will head to a loser-out, winner-to-regionals game on May 14.
“We did make a couple errors that we’re gonna have to clean up defensively to beat a team like Columbia River,” Bullock said. “But it’s one game at a time. That was our goal, to get one win now and we’ve just got to find a way to get one more win to get into the state tournament.”
