PORT ANGELES —One mistake was all it took to eliminate host Olympic in the 14U Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament semifinals Sunday at Volunteer Field.
Olympic came up on the wrong end of a 1-0 pitchers duel with West Linn, Ore. in the day’s first semifinal and will miss out on a trip to the 14U Babe Ruth World Series in Westfield, Mass.
“Even though it was the semis, that was really the way a championship game should be played,” Olympic manager Rob Merritt said.
“We tried to swipe a bag, we tried to put on a hit and run and we lined it right at the center fielder. We had three or four plays where we hit it hard but right at them.
“The little things just didn’t go our way today.”
The game’s lone run came in the bottom of the second inning.
West Linn’s Jacob Sherman reached base on a single to right field and advanced on an Ethan Flodstrom walk of Greyson Pihas.
Olympic catcher Brody Merritt then allowed a passed ball and Sherman broke for third base.
Merritt’s throw to third went into left field and Sherman marched home.
Flodstrom, Timmy Adams and Brody Merritt combined on the mound for a 3-hit, five-walk performance for Olympic.
“It’s hard to ask for more from them,” Merritt said.
“I thought we might have had few more walks, but those guys all did good work out there.”
The trouble was West Linn hurler Sam Romero proved a crafty foe.
Romero pitched a complete-game, scattering five hits and four walks, while striking out three.
“That’s what I was telling the kids,” Merritt said.
“There are pitchers and there are throwers, and he’s a pitcher.
“It wasn’t like he overpowered you with his fastball. He just had a good off-speed pitch, he located it well and threw it for strikes and it kept us off-balance.”
Romero also got 10 ground ball outs, one which ended promising scoring opportunity for Olympic with two outs in the top of the fourth.
Brody Merritt singled to center and moved up to second on a line drive base hit to center by Tanner Lunt.
The pair advanced on a passed ball but Romero got a ground ball out to end the threat.
Olympic got the leadoff hitter aboard in the fifth when Nathan Miller walked.
But Miller was thrown out trying to steal second base and Olympic couldn’t take advantage when Lucas Jarnagin followed with a single to left.
Trying to get the tying run home Olympic then tried a hit-and-run.
But Tyler Bowen’s hard-hit liner was sent straight to the West Linn center fielder and Jarnagin was doubled off first base for an inning-ending double play.
Merritt led off with a single in Olympic’s last at-bats in the top of the seventh.
But a strikeout, a fielders choice and a ground out ended the game.
“It’s a tough way to go out, in a pitcher’s duel like this, but we are absolutely proud of these kids,” Rob Merritt said.
“We have some more lessons to learn and this group will be back.”
West Linn 1, Olympic 0
Olympic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 5 3
West Linn 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 3 0
WP- Romero; LP- Flodstrom
Pitching Statistics
Olympic: Flodstrom 4 IP, 2 H, R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K; Adams IP, H, BB; Merritt IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K.
West Linn: Romero 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K.
Hitting Statistics
Olympic: Merritt 2-3, Lunt 2-3, Jarnagin 1-2.
West Linn: Romero 1-2, BB; Sherman 1-3, R; Gabel 1-1.
Olympic 23, Riverton 0
To reach the semifinals, Olympic racked up 22 hits and 23 runs to blister Riverton, Wyoming on Saturday night.
Silas Thomas pitched four clean innings for Olympic, allowing no runs on no hits and two walks and striking out two.
Flodstrom was 4 of 5 with a triple, a double, two runs and five RBIs.
Merritt scored four runs and went 4 for 5 with a double and three RBIs.
Olympic 23, Riverton, Wyoming 0
5 innings
Olympic 5 9 1 0 8 — 23 22 0
Riverton 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 1 3
WP- Thomas; LP- Draper
Pitching Statistics
Olympic: Bradley IP, H, 0 R, 2 BB; Thomas 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.
Riverton: Draper 5 IP, 22 H, 23 R, 12 ER, 6 BB, K.
Hitting Statistics
Olympic: Flodstrom 4-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 5 RBI; Merritt 4-5, 2B, 4 R, 3 RBI; Jarnagin 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Adams 2-2, R, RBI; Whitman 3-5, 2B, 3 R, RBI; Miller 1-2, R, 3 RBI; Bowechop 2-2, 2 R; Powers 1-2, 2B.
Riverton: Draper 1-2.
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Compiled using team reports.