A goal each from Cason Seaberg and Amador Ramirez was all Elma needed as the Eagles opened the season with a 2-0 victory over Wahluke on Saturday at Montesano High School.
The Eagles (1-0 overall) and Wahluke (0-1) played to a scoreless draw in the first half as Elma was sorting itself out with a host of new faces compared to last season’s senior-heavy team.
Elma got on the board halfway through the second half when a give-and-go pass between junior midfielders Cason Seaberg and Jose Perez ended with Perez producing a Wahluke foul call, setting up a free-kick opportunity on the Wahluke defensive half.
Perez sent the subsequent free kick toward the Wahluke net and – after the Warriors failed to clear the ball – Seaberg sent a left-footed shot into the net from 6-7 yards out for a 1-0 lead midway through the second half.
After Elma failed to score on a few dangerous chances – including a shot by junior midfielder Amador Ramirez that sailed just high over the crossbar – the Eagles cashed in when Seaberg flipped a pass across goal to Ramirez, who found the back of the net for a 2-0 Eagles lead.
Late in the game with Wahluke pushing numbers forward, an Elma penalty created a Warriors scoring chance on a penalty kick, but Elma standout junior keeper Andy Salvatierra made a diving save to preserve a clean sheet and secure the 2-0 win.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Elma’s Theo Flores makes a play during the Eagles’ 2-0 win over Wahluke on Saturday in Montesano.
“They put two goals on us yesterday in a 20-minute jamboree. We made some mistakes and we have a new backline. We are kind of hunting for the best spot for all of our players after graduating all those seniors last year,” Elma head coach Carson Seaberg said. “Some of the things we made mistakes on were things we haven’t always had the time to go over thus far, so we talked about it on the van ride home yesterday and this morning in walk around and we did a really nice job coming out. … We really liked the improvement we saw from yesterday’s jamboree to what we put on the field today. I think that we are moving in the right direction.”
Elma has a busy week ahead with three games on the schedule starting with a game against Aberdeen at 7 p.m. on Monday in Elma.
Wahluke 0 0 – 0
Elma 0 2 – 2
Scoring
First half – none.
Second half – 1, Elma, Seaberg. 2, Elma, Ramirez (Seaberg).
PREP BASEBALL
Montesano 10, North Mason 1
Montesano got the 2023 season off to a good start with a 10-1 victory over North Mason on Saturday in Montesano.
The Bulldogs (1-0) scored a pair of runs in the first on a two-out, two-run single by Josh Wills and doubled up their lead on a Jackson Busz single and subsequent run-scoring error in the bottom of the second.
After North Mason (0-1) scratched across a run in the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs responded with four in the bottom half of the frame, highlighted by an RBI single from Wills and bolstered by drawing five walks in the inning.
Monte scored two more two-out runs by capitalizing on two North Mason errors in the fifth for a 10-1 lead.
Meanwhile Busz cruised on the mound, allowing no runs and one hit in three scoreless innings of work.
The Monte bullpen held the lead in its first performance of the season, with Skylar Bove (1.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 K, 2 BB) and Cam Taylor (2.2 IP, 0 R, 4 K, 3 BB) combining to allow just one unearned run over the final four innings of the game.
“Good day-one outing with the rain and mud,” Monte head coach Mike Osgood said. “Our pitchers did well and we took advantage of the free bases issued by their guys.”
The Bulldogs were led by Busz (2-4, 2 R, RBI), shortstop Bode Poler (2-3, 2 R, 2 BB) and first baseman John Kling (0-1, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB) at the dish as Monte collected 13 walks as a team and capitalized on five North Mason errors.
Montesano is scheduled to host Columbia-White Salmon at 6 p.m. on Friday at Vessey Field in Montesano.
North Mason 000 100 0 – 1 1 5
Montesano 220 420 x – 10 7 1
WP: Busz (3 IP, H, 0 R, 4 K). LP: McGanney (2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 K, 4 BB).
Leading hitters: Montesano – Busz (2-4, 2 R, RBI), Poler (2-3, 2 R, 2 BB), Kling (0-1, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB).
JARED WENZELBURGER | THE CHRONICLE Hoquiam’s Justice Stankavich, right, looks to score during the Southwest Washington High School All-Star Game on Friday at Centralia College. Willapa Valley’s Riley Pearson, foreground, looks on.
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Stankavich, Lorton Watkins and Pearson compete in high-flying all-star game
Hoquiam’s Justice Stankavich and Michael Lorton Watkins joined Willapa Valley’s Riley Pearson in competing in the Southwest Washington Senior All-Star Game on Friday in Centralia.
Lorton Watkins and Stankavich scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for an A team that won the high-octane contest 124-101.
Lorton Watkins helped to provide one of the game’s several highlight-reel moments when he fed an alley-oop pass to Eatonville’s Shay Brannon for an emphatic dunk, one of his six assists in the game.
Playing for the B team, Pearson scored five points.
Brannon won the MVP honors with 29 points while Tumwater’s Luke Brewer won the 3-point contest.
Elma’s Gibson Cain was selected to play in the game but was unable to attend due to baseball obligations.
A Team 62 62 — 124
B Team 48 53 — 101
Scoring
A Team: Brannon 29, Payne 15, Marin 14, Brewer 13, Lorton-Watkins 12, Dalan 12, Stankavich 11, Hopkins 10, Bruun 8.
B Team: Pearson 5, Cournyer 6, Hazen 18, Avalon 16, Kolb 4, Guerrero 7, Homan 12, Boyd 8, Olmstead 5, Salguero 17.
JARED WENZELBURGER | THE CHRONICLE Aberdeen’s Maddie Gore dribbles toward the hoop during the Southwest Washington High School All-Star Game on Friday at Centralia College.
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Locals Gore, Patrick compete in all-star game
Aberdeen’s Maddie Gore and Willapa Valley’s Brooklyn Patrick competed in the Southwest Washington Senior All-Star Game on Friday at Centralia College.
Patrick scored five points for the B team that led nearly wire-to-wire in an 82-37 victory while Gore scored five points for the A team.
Adna’s Karlee VonMoos was named the game’s MVP with 14 points, 17 rebounds and a pair of blocks while Tumwater’s Kylie Waltermeyer won the 3-point contest at halftime, hitting 12 threes in one minute.
Hoquiam’s Ella Folkers was selected to play in the game but was unable to due to softball obligations.
A Team 12 4 11 10 — 37
B Team 13 25 20 24 — 82
Scoring
A Team: Merzoian 5, Angwood 1, Waltermeyer 11, Blocker 2, Gore 5, Rogerson 2, Babka 3, Stull 2, Larson 6.
B Team: Tupuola 6, Hamilton 16, Marshall 17, Loose 11, Patrick 5, Niemeyer 3, Carper 4, Sandridge 3, VonMoos 14, Brooks 5.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Chokers take 3 of 4 from Treasure Valley
Grays Harbor College took 3 of 4 games against Treasure Valley over the weekend, including a convincing twin-bill sweep on Saturday in Ontario, Oregon.
GHC (7-9) opened the four-game weekend series with a 13-3 win on Saturday, scoring five runs in both the second and third innings and pounding out 12 hits.
Chokers left fielder Ian Winterhalder went 2 for 4 with a double, three RBI and a two-run home run in the top of the seventh.
Infielder Hunter Hillyard (2-3, 4R, RBI) and designated hitter Chase Thompson (3-4, 2 RBI) had multi-hit games for a Chokers team that had eight different players collect a base hit in the game.
GHC starter Brock Roundy picked up the win, allowing three earned runs with a walk and 10 strikeouts in six innings pitched.
In the nightcap, the GHC offense remained hot, scoring five runs over the first three innings and holding a 7-0 lead in the sixth in a 9-4 victory.
Winterhalder got GHC on the board with his second home run in as many at-bats, a two-run shot that scored Hillyard for a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Chokers third baseman Dylan Ahmad then doubled home Winterhalder for a 3-0 lead.
In the top of the third, Thompson scored on an error followed by GHC’s Beau Barowsky crossing home on a balk for a 6-0 lead.
Ahmad singled to score Barowsky in the fifth followed by a Barowsky sacrifice fly to score Hillyard in the sixth for a 7-0 lead.
Luke Stutesman earned the win for GHC, allowing two earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks over 5 1/3 innings pitched.
On Sunday, GHC’s offense struggled against Chukars starter Gavin Martin, who allowed no runs and no hits with three strikeouts and four walks in six innings pitched, leading Treasure Valley to a 5-1 victory.
The loss spoiled a solid outing by Chokers starter Colby Scheuber, who allowed three earned runs on five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
In the nightcap, Winterhalder tossed all seven innings to lead the Chokers to a 6-0 shutout, allowing two hits with 12 strikeouts and a walk.
GHC got run-scoring singles from Cameron-Dior Horne, Ahmad, Aidan McMurdo and Jaden Herwick in the game.
GHC outfielder Preston Vine-Close (2-4, R) had a multi-hit game as seven different Chokers collected a hit in the contest.
The Chokers play at Wenatchee Valley for a four-game set beginning with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Chokers open season with two losses
The Grays Harbor College softball team opened its season with two losses at the NWAC Inter-Region on Saturday in Olympia.
GHC (0-2) fell to Walla Walla 20-4 in five innings in the first game, surrendering six runs in the second and 11 in the third after holding a 1-0 lead after the first inning.
The Chokers dropped their second game of the day 12-5 to Wenatchee Valley.
Rain caused the cancellation of GHC’s two scheduled games at the Inter-Region event on Sunday.
The Chokers are scheduled to play at Mount Hood in a doubleheader on Thursday.
First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
