1A District Playoffs:
Lynden Christian 3, King’s 2
Nooksack Valley 4, University Prep 3
Blaine 1, Overlake/Bear Creek 0
Cedar Park Christian 7, Meridian 1
Lynden Christian 5, Nooksack Valley 0
Cedar Park Christian 4, Blaine 2
Overlake/Bear Creek 4, Meridian 3
2A District Playoffs:
Sehome 11, Archbishop Murphy 6
Lynden 9, Anacortes 5
Bellingham 4, Lakewood 1
Burlington-Edison 9, Squalicum 1
Lynden Christian 3, King’s 2
The Lyncs had a battle on their hands in the first round of the 1A bi-district tournament as the Knights put together a 2-0 lead going into the final inning. Junior Vance Elton led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, and it was followed up with Levi Lagreid and Kellen Blankers each getting hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases with nobody out. After a pop-out, senior Eli Maberry walked, which scored Elton, and sophomore Brayden Engels tied the game up with a single to left field which scored Lagreid. The next batter struck out, so now with two outs, it came down to senior Sam Kok, who had pitched the first six innings of the game and struck out six batters. He hit a line drive to right field to score Blankers and win the game, and Lynden Christian snapped a two-game losing skid.
W: Engels (1-2)
LC: Stamps 3-4, SB; Engels 1-3, RBI; Kok 1-4, RBI; Johnson 1-3, SB.
Nooksack Valley 4, University Prep 3
The Pioneers got on the scoreboard first when senior Landen Stauffer doubled home junior Treven McMillen in the top of the second inning. Later in the inning, Stauffer scored on a passed ball, and a single by junior Jacob Woodrich allowed senior Evan Brown to score. Just like that, Nooksack Valley held a 3-0 lead. It became a whole new ball game in the bottom of the third as the Pumas came around to touch home-plate three times and tie the score. Freshman Jamison Randolph, who had come on to pitch the inning before, singled in the top of the fifth, and eventually came around to score the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice. Senior Matthew Blake pitched the final three innings, and struck out seven, to get the save.
W: Randolph (1-4)
S: Blake (1)
NV: Randolph 2-4, R, SB; L. Woodrich 1-4; Stauffer 1-3, 2B, RBI, R; J. Woodrich 1-3, RBI; Bauman 1-3.
Blaine 1, Overlake/Bear Creek 0
Borderite sophomore George Streeter singled in the bottom of the first, advanced to second base on a wild pitch and then scored on a single from junior Aaron Garza, and that ended up being the lone run of the game as Blaine picked up the opening round win. Senior pitcher Ashton Vezzetti pitched the complete game shutout where he struct out eight batters and allowed just three hits.
W: Vezzetti (3-2)
BLA: Garza 2-3, RBI; Streeter 1-3, R; Cochran 1-2, Bouma 1-2, 2B.
Cedar Park Christian 7, Meridian 1
The lone 1A team that came up unlucky on Saturday were the Trojans as they fell behind early to the Eagles, and were never able to come back. A double from junior Trevyn Crabtree scored junior Pierce Brzozowski, who had singled earlier in the inning. Junior pitcher Landon Rowley went the distance, but took the loss as Meridian fell into the consolation round.
L: Rowley (2-6)
MER: Crabtree 2-3, 2B, RBI; P. Brzozowski 1-2, R; Marum 1-3.
Lynden Christian 5, Nooksack Valley 0
In the semifinals of the 1A bi-district tournament, it was an all Whatcom County matchup, but the Lyncs were too much for the Pioneers to handle as they not only secured a spot in the tournament’s championship game on Saturday, but they also locked in a spot in the 1A state tournament. Senior pitcher Eli Maberry needed just 65 pitches (50 of which he threw for strikes) to get the shutout win. Lynden Christian also got a pair of hits from Brayden Engels and Eli Stamps, as well as two runs batted in from Vance Elton. The Lyncs will face Cedar Park Christian for the bi-district championship at 3:30 on Saturday at Joe Martin Stadium. Nooksack Valley is still alive, and will face Overlake/Bear Creek at 1:00 on Saturday for a chance to get to the 1A state tournament.
W: Maberry (3-1)
L: Bauman (2-4)
LC: Engels 2-4, R; Stamps 2-4, 2B, R; Maberry 1-3, RBI, BB, SB; Kok 1-4, RBI, R; Johnson 1-3, RBI, SB; Frost 1-3, R.
NV: L. Woodrich 1-3; Stauffer 1-3, Brown 1-2, Bauman 1-2.
Cedar Park Christian 4, Blaine 2
In the semifinals of the 1A bi-district tournament, the Borderites went up 2-0 early on after junior Josh Cochran scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, and George Streeter stepped on home plate in the third inning when an error was committed in the field. However, a walk, an error a fielder’s choice and a ground out led to two runs for the Eagles in the bottom of the third. Cedar Park Christian scored twice more in the bottom of the fifth on a 2-run double. Cochran went five innings on the mound and struck out seven. He allowed just the one hit, but walked six. Blaine will face King’s at 1:00 on Saturday at Sehome High School for a chance to get into the state tournament.
L: Cochran (4-5)
BLA: Kerwin 1-4; Garza 1-3; Vezzetti 1-3.
Overlake/Bear Creek 4, Meridian 3
The Trojans tied the game up at 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning when junior Trey Alexander scored on a ground out. It was his third run of the game, but the Growls returned the favor in the bottom of the seventh with a walk-off single to left field, which ultimately ended the season for Meridian. Pierce Brzozowski singled and doubled, and Landon Rowley knocked in two runs, as the Trojan season ended with a record of 5-16.
L: T. Alexander (4-3)
MER: P. Brzozowski 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB; T. Alexander 1-2, 3 R, 2 BB; Galbraith 1-4; Culp 1-3.
Sehome 11, Archbishop Murphy 6
On the 2A side, the Mariners crushed 13 hits, walked five times and took advantage of six Wildcat errors to claim a victory in the district tournament semifinals, and secure a berth in the state playoffs. Senior Tyson Goodman went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs batted in and two runs scored, while senior Gunnar Tweit drove in three runs and junior Eljas Lara walked four times and scored four runs. Lefty freshman Garrett Gibbons picked up his Whatcom County leading sixth win of the season as he went four innings, allowed just one hit and struck out four.
W: Gibbons (6-1)
SEH: Goodman 3-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB; Neff 2-4, 2 RBI, R, 2 SB; Tweit 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, BB; Carlson 2-5, RBI; Geiger 1-4; Anderson 1-4, 2B, R; Myers 1-4, 2B, R; Braunstein 1-3, R, 2 SB.
Lynden 9, Anacortes 5
With a state playoff berth on the line, the Lions needed a big comeback in order to pick up the win, and when they scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, it was mission accomplished for Lynden. The Seahawks flew out to a 5-0 lead after an inning and a half, but the Lions (who were down 3-0 in the previous game before coming back) stayed the course and nailed down the victory. Senior Matthew Carroll continued his strong tournament as he went 3-for-3 with two runs driven in and two runs scored. He also walked and stole a base. Sophomore pitcher Joe Bensen nearly went the distance, but saddled with a high pitch count with one out left in the game. Lynden will now face Sehome for the district championship at 6:00 on Wednesday at Daniels Field in Anacortes.
W: Bense (3-0)
LYN: Carroll 3-3, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SB; Bedlington 1-3, R, BB; Adams 1-3, R, BB; Baar 1-3, RBI.
Bellingham 4, Lakewood 1
The Bayhawks stayed alive in the district playoffs after scoring four runs in the top of the fifth inning against the Cougars. The inning started when Eric Helfield and Joe Harward both singled, and it was followed by a walk from C.R. Griffith. Senior Eli Goodbuffalo then came up and singled to left field to score two runs and give Bellingham the lead. Later in the inning, Griffth scored on a balk, and Goodbuffalo came around to score on a wild pitch. Junior Ben Leonard stroked two hits and pitched the first three innings of the game, Sophomore Beckett Fisher pitched the next three innings and Jasper Love pitched the final inning. The Bayhawks will attempt to keep their season alive when the take on Archbishop Murphy at 3:30 on Monday at Daniels Field in Anacortes.
W: Fisher (4-2)
S: Love (1)
BEL: Nelson 2-3, BB; Leonard 2-3, BB; Helfield 1-3, R; Harward 1-4, R; Griffith 1-2, R, 2 BB; Goodbuffalo 1-4, 2 RBI, R.
Burlington-Edison 9, Squalicum 1
The season came to a close for the Storm as they fell in the consolation round of the district tournament. Squalicum’s lone run of the game came when Elliott Friedman stole home in the top of the fifth inning. Junior pitcher Hudson Johnson went five innings and struck out two, and the Storm hits came off the bats of Friedman, Christian Vermeulen, Rylan Prince and Phoenix Price. The Storm bowed out with a record of 6-17.
L: Johnson (4-7)
SQU: Vermeulen 1-3; Prince 1-2, BB; Friedman 1-2, R, SB; Price 1-2, SB.
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