The sophomore Pe Ell-Willapa Valley calls “Cheese” aged like fine cheddar over the course of a dominant outing Saturday, as Connor Keeton dominated Mossyrock in a five-inning no-hitter to lead the Titans to a 10-0 win.
“Connor was great today,” PWV coach Kent Smaciarz said. “I’m really proud of the way that he challenged them and trusted us to play good defense behind him. He controlled the game from start to finish."
Keeton finished with six strikeouts and didn’t give up any walks or hit batters. The only blights on his final line keeping him from a perfect game were a pair of fielding errors behind him — one in the second inning, and one in the fourth. Neither Viking that reached base made it to second.
At the plate, the Titans banged out three runs in the second to take the lead for good, expanded it with a four-run frame in the fourth, and ended the day early with a three-spot in the fifth.
Garrett Keeton went 3 for 3 with a walk and drove in two runs, while Connor Keeton had two RBIs in a 1-for-4 day at the dish. At the top of the order, Blake Howard scored both times he reached base.
Cooper Young took the loss for the Vikings, giving up three runs — all unearned — in two innings of work. Jacob Comer and Hunter Isom combined to get the final eight outs for Mossyrock, but Brayden Ruddell ended it with a single with two down in the fifth.
Mossyrock will face Naselle on Monday for a clash between the top two teams in the 1B Coastal, while PWV will get two games at home against Ilwaco on Tuesday in Pacific 2B League action.
