Facing a winner-take-all game for a league championship, Montesano rallied late to win the second game of a doubleheader against Tenino on Tuesday in Montesano.
The Bulldogs (17-2 overall, 11-1 1A Evergreen) entered the day leading Tenino (16-3, 9-2) by two games in the 1A Evergreen League and needing to win one game to secure the league title.
But it was the Beavers that came out hot, scoring six runs over the first two innings to take a comfortable 6-0 lead heading to the fourth.
After Tenino added a run in the top of the fourth, Montesano got back in the game with a four-spot in the fifth. Outfielder Kaleb Ames doubled to drive in Jackson Busz followed by a Josh Wills sacrifice fly to score Bode Poler. A Christian Olsen single drove in Ames and courtesy-runner Zach Timmons to get Monte back in the game at 7-4.
But that was all the scoring Monte could muster as Tenino added an insurance run in the top of the eighth while holding the Bulldogs scoreless over the final two innings, handing Monte its first league loss of the season and ending the Bulldogs’ 10-game winning streak.
With the winner of the nightcap claiming the league title, Montesano wasted little time responding.
The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the first when Ames triple to right and came home to score a “Little League home run” after an errant Tenino throw skittered out of play.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Kaleb Ames cheers after scoring a run during the first inning of the Bulldogs’ league-clinching 8-6 victory over Tenino on Tuesday at Vessey Field in Montesano.
“That’s natural. I do that almost every time I score, no matter the score of the game,” Ames joked regarding his exuberant cheering once awarded home plate. “That was a really big one, coming in and taking the lead early. … We knew if we lost that buffer game, we were going to come out firing and make them not want to play baseball here again.”
Monte turned to Cam Taylor on the bum and the ace right-hander delivered. Taylor shut down Tenino over the first four innings of the game, allowing no runs on just one hit with five strikeouts.
Taylor also contributed on the defensive end, snaring a bunt pop up then wheeling to throw out Tenino’s Jack Burkhardt at second for an inning-ending double play in the third.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano starting pitcher Cam Taylor throws a pitch during the Bulldogs’ 8-6 victory over Tenino on Tuesday in Montesano.
Monte would extend the lead to 4-0 with three runs in the third on a bases-loaded walk to Poler, a sac fly by Ames and an RBI double off the bat of Wills.
Taylor ran into trouble in the fifth when Tenino loaded the bases on two walks and a single.
With one out and the sacks full, Hunter Sweet hit a ground ball to Jaxson Wilson at third, who came home with the throw to catcher Denali Harris.
Harris appeared to have recorded the out before dropping the ball during a transfer, looking to complete a double play at first base.
But after protestation from the Tenino coaching staff and a subsequent meeting of the umpires, the call was overturned, removing the out and giving Tenino its first run of the game.
Then the floodgates opened. Tenino scored four more runs in the frame, assisted by another Montesano error and taking a 5-4 lead on a Kellan Knox double to score two runs.
A Burkhardt two-out single off Monte reliever Skylar Bove pushed across Tristan Whitaker to give the Beavers a 6-4 lead in the top of the sixth.
Faced the the realization of a league title slipping through their grasp, the Bulldogs found a way to rally once more.
An error followed by a Poler single and a walk to Ames loaded the bases for Wills, who singled to drive in Busz and cut the deficit to 6-5.
Kling then worked a bases-loaded walk to tie the game followed by a Taylor sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Ames to put Monte up 7-6.
Christian Olsen followed with a productive out, scoring Wills with a fielder’s choice ground out to make it an 8-6 ballgame.
“A lot of teams get down in that situation, but we persevered. We are a very resilient team and we knew we could comeback and we did,” said Ames, who let out another primal scream when scoring the go-ahead run. “Coming in as the leading run, I was really excited. I did that primal yell again when I crossed home. We were all really excited and knew we were just three outs away from taking the league title.”
“We went into the dugout and we were frustrated,” Taylor said of the team’s psyche entering the bottom of the sixth. “But we came out as a team, together, and clutched up. … I felt like our bats were getting hot and as a team, we just felt like we were going to clutch up and win the game. Never doubted it.”
“I knew this was a resilient team and we were going to get it done,” Wills said. “We started hitting the ball and getting it into play, drew walks, worked the count, got base-runners and tried not to do too much. Advanced one base at a time and found ourselves up 8-6. … We struggled, but I knew once we got the lead back we were going to keep it.”
That was all Bove would need, working around a two-out error to get Snider to fly out to Busz in right field to end the game, earning Monte the league championship.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano reliever Skylar Bove pitched the final two innings to earn the victory in the Bulldogs’ 8-6 victory over Tenino on Tuesday in Montesano.
“It’s always about the team. I had to hold it down. That has been my job all year,” Bove said of his performance. “”I got my mind straight, focused up and did my job. I’m just so happy with the result. I can’t even describe (the feeling). It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world and all we can do is take this momentum farther into the season.”
Bove picked up with win, allowing one unearned run on two hits with a strikeout in two innings of relief.
Taylor went five innings, allowing five runs – one earned – on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
Three Montesano errors led to five unearned runs from Tenino.
After managing just five hits in the first game, Montesano totalled nine base hits in Game 2, led by Wills (3-4, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI) and Ames (2-2, 3B, 2B, 2 R, RBI) with multi-hit games.
“(The win) gives us lots of momentum,” Wills said after beating the sixth-ranked Beavers. “We know that we can battle back from anything. No matter what the score is, we are going to keep fighting and come out on top.”
“We have six tremendous seniors that are the heart and soul of our team,” Montesano head coach Mike Osgood said. “Our guys just believe in each other and love playing with each other. We’ve got a bunch of buddies in there and they just have a good time. … The guys just kept believing. I think the biggest thing is they didn’t want to leave a championship on their field and let that get away from them today.”
The Bulldogs are currently No. 2 in the WIAA RPI rankings behind Naches Valley, a team they split a doubleheader with back on April 8.
Monte will enter the 1A District 4 playoffs as the 1A Evergreen League No. 1 seed and will host the Trico No. 4 seed in a first-round game tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam (subject to change).
Tenino 8, Montesano 4
Tenino 204 100 1 – 8 8 1
Montesano 000 040 0 – 4 5 4
WP: Straion ( 5 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 H, 6 BB, 5 K). LP: Busz (3 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K).
Leading hitters: Tenino – Snider (2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI); Knox (2-3, 2 R, RBI); Vasser (2-4); Straion (1-3, 3 R); Gonia (1-4, RBI). Montesano – Ames (2-4, 2B, R, RBI); Olsen (1-3, 2 RBI); Taylor (1-3); Wilson (1-4).
Montesano 8, Tenino 6
Tenino 000 051 0 – 6 6 3
Montesano 130 004 x – 8 9 3
WP: Bove (2 IP, R, 0 ER, 2 H, K). LP: Snider (3 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, K).
Leading hitters: Tenino – Straion (2-4, R, 2 RBI); Knox (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI); Burkhardt (2-2, R, RBI). Montesano – Wills (3-4, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI); Ames (2-2, 3B, 2B, 2 R, RBI); Poler (1-3, R, RBI); Kling (1-3, RBI); Taylor (1-3, RBI); Olsen (1-4, R, RBI).
Elma 10, Eatonville 2
Elma locked up third-place in the 1A Evergreen League with a 10-2 win over Eatonville in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday in Eatonville.
The Eagles (10-8, 5-6 1A Evergreen) scored four runs in the first on a two-run double by Jack Alexander sandwiched between RBI singles from Gibson Cain and Andrew Sanders.
Elma added four more in the top of the fifth on a Carter Studer RBI single, a two-run double by Eastin Wright, and a Sanders sacrifice fly.
Blake Corr doubled to drive in a run and later crossed home on a wild pitch as the Eagles added two runs in the seventh.
Brody Palmer, Cain and Corr combined to hold the Cruisers (4-12, 2-9) to two runs on four hits, three walks and five strikeouts, with Palmer picking up the win.
Elma 400 040 2 – 10 11 0
Eatonville 100 001 0 – 2 4 1
WP: Palmer (2 IP, R, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K). LP: Archer (5 IP, 8 R, 6 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, K).
Leading hitters: Elma – Corr (2-3, 2B, R, RBI); Cain (2-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI); Alexander (1-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI); Wright (1-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI); Camus (1-3); Studer (1-1, 2 R, RBI); Sanders (1-2, 2 RBI). Eatonville – Hanly (1-2, 2B, R); Field (2-3, RBI).
Elma 10, Eatonville 0
Elma earned the twin-bill sweep with a 10-0 win over Eatonville in the nightcap.
For the second-consecutive game, Elma scored four runs in the top of the first.
Wright forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk followed by RBI singles from Alexander and Corr.
Elma added a run in the top of the fourth on a run-scoring single by Wright.
The Eagles put five runs across in the fifth, capped by a single from Grant Vessey to score Corr.
Sanders got the win, allowing no runs on two hits over four innings pitched.
Elma plays at Napavine at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Elma 400 105 – 10 8 0
Eatonville 000 000 – 0 5 2
WP: Sanders (4 IP, 0 R, 2 H). LP: Thirtyacre (5.1 IP, 10 R, 9 ER, 7 H, 10 BB, 3 K).
Leading hitters: Elma – Wright (1-2, 2 R, 2 RBI); Cain (1-2, 2 R); Alexander (1-3, 2 RBI); Corr (1-3, R, 2 RBI); Vessey (1-5). Eatonville – Stogsdill (2-3); Herbrand (2-2).
Other scores
Rochester 7, Aberdeen 4
Lake Quinault 17, Hoquiam 4
Chief Leschi 24, North Beach 3
Chief Leschi 7, North Beach 0
Raymond-South Bend 17, Ocosta 5
Raymond-South Bend 13, Ocosta 1
