PORT ANGELES — The Wilder Junior Baseball Club won one game easily and the other game in a tough battle that came down to the last couple of innings.
But in the end Sunday, Wilder Junior finished with a sweep over Whatcom Post No. 7 AA at Volunteer Field, taking Game One 7-4 and the Game Two 15-3.
Easton Fisher, who has been hot all season for Wilder Jr., finished the day 5-for-5 with five runs scored.
The sweep, at Wilder Jr.’s first home games of the year, came after an up-and-down road trip through Lynden, Mount Vernon and Burlington. After Saturday, Wilder Jr.’s season record is 7-4.
In Game One, Bryce Deleon was dominant on the mound, going six innings, allowing seven hits and one earned run while striking out 10. More importantly, he shut down Whatcom No. 7 when it tried to rally in the fifth and sixth innings.
Deleon gave up two hits in the fifth, but got out of the inning on a double play turned by shortstop Rylan Dunn. In the sixth, Whatcom No. 7 again started the inning with two hits, but Deleon got a strikeout and a groundout to second baseman Carston Seibel to end the inning.
“I liked out fight today,” said coach Greg Dickman. “We had good at-bats, good pitching.”
Dickman said the Game One victory was typical of Wilder Jr. this season, with the team bearing down in the late innings.
“We got off to a hot start, then we hit a little bit of a lull and we finished strong,” he said. “That’s kind of what we’ve been doing all year. We put together some good at-bats [in the sixth inning].”
Deleon, who earlier this season had a six-inning shutout against Lynden AA, was dominant but did have to battle the last couple of inning after Whatcom got some hits.
“I just tried to focus and stay in the zone,” he said. “I just wanted to throw strikes and let my defense make plays behind me.”
Deleon also said Wilder’s offense down the stretch kept him in a groove.
“That definitely made me more confident out there,” he said.
Wilder Jr. went into the bottom of the sixth up just 4-2 and played add-on with three important runs in the sixth. After an error on a grounder by Ryland Proiette, Fisher hit a single and Brandt Perry singled to drive in two runs. Carson Waddell followed with a single to drive in Perry to make it 7-2.
Those runs helped as Whatcom again put a bunch of runners on base. After three hits, Whatcom made the score 7-4, but with a runner on, relief pitcher Braeden Boulden got a groundout to end the game.
The second game was not nearly as tense as Wilder Jr. got up 11-0 before Whatcom scored a run. Fisher was 3-for-3 with two doubles, two stolen bases, three runs scored and two RBIs. Lincoln Bear hit a double, scored three runs and drove in three while stealing two bases.
Logan Doyle was 1-for-2 with four RBIs, two steals and a walk and Ian Smithson was 1-for-2 with three runs scored, a walk and two steals. Seibel was 1-for-2 with two runs score and two RBIs and Clay Abrams was 1-for-1 with two RBIs.
Pitcher Hunter Stratford went the distance, going five innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs. He struck out three and walked two.
Wilder Jr. played two games Sunday after press deadline against the North City Pilots. For results, go to www.peninsula dailynews.com.
Wilder Senior played Whatcom AAA after press deadline Sunday. Wilder Senior will play at 6:30 p.m. today at Civic Field.
Wilder A will host the Kingston Kings at Volunteer Field at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Wilder Jr. 15, Whatcom AA 3
WJr. 2 0 5 4 4 x — 15 10 0
What. 0 0 0 1 2 x — 3 6 3
Pitching
Wilder Jr. — Stratford 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 K, 2 BB.
Hitting
Wilder Jr. — Fisher 3-3, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB; Smith 1-2, 3 R; Deleon 1-3, 2 R; Seibel 1-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, SF; Bear 1-2, 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB; Doyle 1-2, 4 RBI, BB; Abrams, 1-1, 2 RBI, SF.
Wilder Jr. 7, Whatcom AA 4
What. 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 — 4 10 6
WJr. 1 3 0 0 0 3 x — 7 7 2
Pitching
Wilder Jr. — Deleon 6 IP, 7 H, ERE, 10 K; Boulden IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K.
Hitting
Wilder Jr. — Fisher 2-2, 2 R; Smithson 1-4, RBI; Waddell 1-2 R, 2 RBI; Seibel 1-4, RBI; Perry 10-3, 2 R, 2 RBI.
