MOSSYROCK — Mossyrock baseball mashed 16 hits and vaulted to a 13-2, run-rule victory in six innings over visiting Lake Quinault on Monday in the first round of the 1B District 4 tournament on Monday.
With just four teams in the district tournament, the win means the Vikings will now face Naselle — who beat Oakville on Monday — for the district championship.
“It’s awesome,” Mossyrock’s Jake Comer said. “We’ve been working really hard in practice — with all our games getting canceled. We’ve been practicing for a while and we just gotta beat Naselle now.”
The Vikings have played just nine games this season after not playing once during a five-week stretch due to weather cancellations. Now, they’re on the verge of playing in their first district title game since 2011.
“I wanna beat Naselle really bad,” Mossyrock coach Darren Kolb said. “I think it’s our turn.”
The Vikings were swept by the Comets in the regular season, 4-0 and 5-2, and now the Vikings are looking for redemption.
Mossy looked like a team to beat on Monday, overcoming a slow start — leading 1-0 through three and a half innings before exploding for six runs in the bottom of the fourth and five more in the bottom of the fifth to cruise past the Elks.
Comer hit his first home run of the year into the centerfield bleachers and Marshall Brockway hit an inside-the-park home run.
Andrew Bender was a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate, and Keegan Kolb, Gunner Mulligan, Hunter Isom and Nayson West all put together multi-hit games.
“Their pitchers threw strikes and we hit the ball hard all day,” Kolb said. “It was a good game to start districts.”
Mulligan started on the mound, throwing four shutout innings with four strikeouts. Easton Kolb pitched the fifth inning with two Ks and Keegan Kolb threw the sixth with one K. The trio combined for a no-hitter as the Elks scored their two runs on a couple walked batter and an error.
If we can hit like this against Naselle and throw strikes, we might win us a district championship,” Darren Kolb said.
Mossyrock and Naselle square off for the district title on May 12 in South Bend.
