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WINLOCK — The Cardinals were not able to get the worm on Saturday but rebounded from an 20-2 drubbing in the opening act of a non-league baseball doubleheader against Ilwaco in time to enjoy a 7-6 walkoff win in the nightcap.
The Fishermen showed no sign of tired arms or legs after their bus trip from the coast and hung 13 hits on the home team in Game 1. Meanwhile, Winlock was hindered by a lineup full of suspiciously tired eyes and reflexes that were a step too slow throughout the thorough dismantling at the hands of the visitors. Seven errors on the part of the home team didn’t help their cause.
Alex Hillard took care of the receiving duties behind the dish all day for Ilwaco and led the Fishermen at the plate in the opener with three run scored and three RBIs on a pair of hits that included a two-run homerun. Nate Hopkins added three hits and scored three runs while Ethan Hopkins also chipped in three hits and touched home plate twice in the win.
Jacob Rogers took the ball to the hill for the Fishermen and pitched all six innings in the mercy rule abbreviated contest. Rogers struck out three Cardinals and scattered five hits while allowing just two runs.
Julius Jacobs sparked Winlock’s only rally in Game 1 with a double to get the bottom of the fifth inning started. Austin Trodahl was hit by a pitch in the following and Landom Tiemens kept the Cardinals going in the right direction with a hit and Aiden Eitel followed suit with an RBI single. Mekhi Morlin was then able to bring in Trodahl with a fielder’s choice but that was all she wrote for Winlock in the day’s opening act.
That brief run of positivity for the Cardinals was short lived, however, as Ilwaco went off for eleven runs in the top of the sixth inning to push the game well into ten-run territory.
Luckily for Winlock, the layover between games was the tonic for whatever it was that ailed them in the early going.
Aiden Freitas pitched the first five innings for Winlock in the nightcap and allowed six runs on four hits while adding four strikeouts as a garnish. Cole Fray-Parmantier took over in the sixth inning and fitched the final six outs without allowing a run in order to pick up the win in relief.
That win for Fray-Paramantier, the first of his prep career, was made possible by a three run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jacobs was the man who came through for Winlock once again by launching a double down the left field line with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the seventh to snatch the 7-6 win from the jaws of defeat.
Winlock’s Landon Tiemens had two hits at the top of the order with a run scored and a stolen base. Eitel coaxed three free passes from Fishermen pitchers in the game and scored three runs. Morlin laced a ball to the wall in right field for a triple and scored two runs.
Winlock started their comeback in the fifth inning with three runs that brought the dugout to the brink of insanity. Chris “Aussie” Heikkila cleared a set of loaded bases in the inning with a looping double to right-centerfield that landed between a trio of Fishermen.
In addition to thumping the game-winning hit, Jacobs also patrolled centerfield for the duration of Game 2 and hauled in every ball that came his way.
Kaeden Lyster led Ilwaco’s offense in Game 2 with two hits and two runs scored.
Winlock (4-5) is scheduled to host Wahkiakum on Wednesday. Ilwaco (3-6) is scheduled to play at Rainier (WA) on Tuesday.
