DICK BROWN FIRECRACKER: Wilder Senior goes 4-1, shut out in semifinal

PORT ANGELES —Wilder Senior had a wildly successful Dick Brown Firecracker Classic tournament, winning four out of five games and making it to Sunday’s semifinal.

After cruising to a 4-0 record through the tournament, the seniors were finally beaten Sunday 5-0 by the Shoreline Royals.

Shoreline had a one-hitter going through five innings. Wilder Senior put two runners on in both the sixth and seventh inning on four late hits, but the seniors were never able to get the big hit to bring home a run.

Ethan Staples had a double and Bryant Laboy pounded out two hits.

On the mound, Brayden Martin and Colton Romero combined to allowing nine hits while striking out six.

Shoreline Royals 5, Wilder Sr. 0

Shore. 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 — 5 9 0

WSr. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 5 1

Pitching

Wilder Senior — Martin 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 K; Romero 3 IP, 3 H, 3 K.

Hitting

Wilder Senior — Laboy 2-3, Staples 1-2, 2B.

Saturday, Friday games

Wilder Senior moved on to Sunday’s semifinal with a 6-0 shutout over Crush Orange on Saturday and a 4-3 victory over Lakeside Recovery Gray on Friday night, allowing a combined total of five hits in the two victories.

Wilder Senior will play in the tournament semifinals at 11:30 a.m. Sunday for the chance to play in the championship game at 4:30 p.m. Both games are at Civic Field.

Saturday’s win was the eighth victory in the past nine games for Wilder Senior — and even the lone loss was by one run. After a bumpy 2-8 start to their season in which the seniors were getting solid pitching but struggled to generate runs, they won seven out of eight. Wilder Senior’s record now stands at 10-10 after Sunday’s loss.

Incredibly, Saturday’s victory was also the sixth shutout in nine games. In fact, Wilder Senior pitchers have allowed just 14 runs in their past 10 games.

Wilder Senior won their Dick Brown bracket with a 3-0 record. Saturday’s game was the beginning of the round-robin phase.

Rylan Politika went five innings, allowing no hits and striking out eight. Braydan White came in to pitch the final two innings. He had to get out of a tight jam in the sixth with a pair of strikeouts with the game still very much in doubt. He finished with three strikeouts and he allowed three hits.

Politika said the team never lost its confidence after the 2-8 start.

“We knew. We knew we’re a good team. We just had to lock in a bit more,” Politika said.

Politika said catcher Devyn Dearinger caught a great game for him. Dearinger is part of a big contingent of Sequim players who have been huge contributors to this year’s team. The Sequim players also include Braydan White, Laboy and Staples.

“I think we’re mixing in well [with the Port Angeles players]. We’re getting along as a team. We trust each other,” Dearinger said. “It’s our chemistry for sure [behind the 8-1 streak]. We’re finally becoming a team.”

Wilder Senior got three runs in the first inning with Alex Angevine again doing damage with his legs. He legged out a bunt for a single and moved to third on a bad throw on a pickoff attempt. He scored on a dropped third strike. Colton Romero had an RBI single in the inning.

After the first inning it turned into a tight pitchers’ duel with neither team able to muster much offense.

Crush Orange put four baserunners on in the fifth and the sixth. In the fifth, Politika got an important groundout to end the inning with two runners on.

White came in to pitch the sixth. He allowed a pair of one-out singles and the runners moved up to second and third on a wild pitch as Crush Orange put pressure on again. With the tying run at the plate, White ended the threat with a pair of crucial strikeouts.

In the bottom of the sixth, Wilder scored three insurance runs with some hard-hit balls. Luke Flodstrom started the rally when he hit a single. Landen Olson was then hit by a pitch.

Dearinger then hit a bomb to deep left field that went off the fence to score two runs. He came all the around to third, as it was scored a double and a misplay on the throw. He later came in to score on a wild pitch.

And Wilder Senior’s defense did the rest in the seventh inning, as Angevine and Bryant Laboy turned a double play to end the contest.

Angevine finished 2-for-4 and White was 2-for-3. Like Dearinger, White also narrowly missed a home run, hitting a deep, towering drive that was caught right at the center-field fence.

Wilder Senior 6, Crush Orange 0

CO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 3 2

WSr. 3 0 0 0 0 3 x — 6 9 1

Pitching

Wilder Senior — Politika 5 IP, 8 K; White 2 IP, 3 H, 3 K.

Hitting

Wilder Senior — Angevine 2-4, R; White 2-3, 2B; Townsend 1-2, R, BB; Dearinger 1-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI.

Friday’s game

Wilder Senior scored four runs in the second inning and got a combined two-hitter from Landen Olson and Angevine to beat Lakeside Recovery Gray 4-3 on Friday night.

Despite allowing just the two hits, the seniors had to hold on tight in the seventh inning as Lakeside rallied.

Luke Flodstrom had the big blow early, hitting a bases-loaded two-run single to get Wilder Senior on the board. Tate Alton then scored on a passed ball and Flodstrom came in to score on a balk.

Olson then mowed down the Gray batters for most of the game. Lakeside Recovery got one run in he third on a sac fly.

In the seventh, Olson allowed a pair of walks and was taken out for Angevine. Lakeside Recovery scored a run on an error and another on a bases-loaded walk. But, Angevine ended up striking out the side, ending the game with a clutch bases-loaded strikeout.

Flodstrom was 2-for-3, while Laboy and Romero each had two hits. Angevine hit a triple.

Olson went six innings, allowed one hit, two earned runs and struck out four.

Wilder Sr. 4, Lakeside Gray 3

WSr. 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 — 4 10 2

LRG 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 — 3 2 0

Pitching

Wilder Senior — Olson 6 IP, H, 2 ER, 4 K; Angevine IP, H, 3 K.

Hitting

Wilder Senior — Laboy 2-4, SB; Romero 2-2, R, BB, SB; Flodstrom 2-3, R, 2 RBI; Angevine 1-4, 3B.