2A District Championship:
Lynden 5, Burlington-Edison 4 (9 innings)
Lynden 5, Burlington-Edison 4
Think back to your youth, playing with a ball and a bat in your back yard, or at the park. How many times did you put yourself in this situation…. bottom of the 9th, down by two, a couple runners on base, with the championship on the line. When sophomore third baseman Kyleigh McVie stepped up to the plate on Saturday afternoon, that was the exact situation she was in. And when she blasted the second pitch that she saw over the right-center field fence to end the game, win the 2A District Championship and send the Lions back to the 2A State Tournament, the emotions ran incredibly high.
First-year head coach Ryan Dykstra leaped so high in the air he looked like the Air Jordan logo, as player were shedding tears at home plate, waiting for McVie to join them and score the fifth and final run.
The entire game was extremely tight, as both teams scored in the first inning, and dominant pitching on both sides led to a 1-1 tie after a full seven innings of play. The Tigers hit a homerun in the top of the eighth inning to take a 2-1 lead, but Lynden was able to manufacture a run in the bottom of the inning after Kaiah Tull was hit by a pitch, and Kasey DeJong followed up with a bunt single. Melanie Anderson then grounded into a fielder’s choice, but it advanced Tull to third base with just one out. Sarah McVie then slapped the ball down the third base line, and legged out a single, which also scored Tull to tie the game, and the eighth inning ended at 2-2.
Rules permitted that the last out from the eighth inning would start on second base to begin the ninth inning, and Burlington-Edison was able to rap a pair of base hits and score two runs, which led to the heroics in the bottom of the inning. Emily McVie started the inning on second base, and quickly advanced to third base on a passed ball. Callie Ramerman then showed incredibly patience and walked on a 3-2 pitch. Jami Huerta entered the game as a courtesy runner for Ramerman, and promptly stole second base to eliminate a force at second base, which set up Kyleigh McVie’s biggest moment of her varsity career.
Lynden will now await its draw for the 2A state tournament, which will begin in Selah on Friday.
W: Ramerman (15-6)
LYN: S. McVie 1-4, RBI; C. DeJong 1-4, SB; K. McVie 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R; K. DeJong 1-3.
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