LONGVIEW — Wilder Baseball captured third place at the prestigious eight-team Lower Columbia Summer Classic last weekend.
“We are starting to play better,” Wilder coach Rob Merritt said.
Wilder, which went 3-2 in Longview and now is 12-9 overall, will use the Summer Classic as a springboard into its own 10-team tournament this week, the 11th annual Dick Brown Memorial Firecracker Tournament.
The four-day Firecracker starts Thursday at 10 a.m. and ends Sunday with the championship game at 4 p.m.
Wilder opened the Summer Classic last Thursday night by losing 7-5 to host team Longview Red Lions.
Port Angeles scored five runs despite being no-hit for five innings by Longview ace Drew Pettit, a southpaw who was throwing consistently between 88 and 93 mph the whole night.
Wilder scored three in the fifth when Pettit, who had struck out 15 batters in a row at one point, walked three, hit one batter and had three passed balls.
Pettit left with the no-hitter intact.
Port Angeles ended up with three hits in the game.
Alex Gillis and Ryan Wilcox combined on a six-hitter for Wilder.
Danny Romero went 1-for-2, scoring a run, in the game while Brien Jaksha and Kyle Jenkins both were 1-for-3.
Wilder 9, Salem, Ore., 1
Port Angeles won two games Friday to get into the thick of things, both by the score of 9-1, starting with an easy outing against Salem.
Romero (3-2) went the distance, scattering five hits and giving up just one run. He walked two and fanned seven batters.
Cody Sullivan carried the big bat, going 2-for-4 with a solo home run, two RBIs and two runs scored.
A.J. Konopaski was 2-for-3 with an RBI while Jenkins also went 2-for-3 while scoring a run and hitting in another run.
Gillis had a big game at the plate with three RBIs, including a two-RBI double and scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Wilder 9, Ryder 1
In Friday’s second game, Port Angeles beat Ryder Showtime of Vancouver, Wash., by the same score.
Wilder scored five runs in the third inning to break the game open as Ryder’s lone run came in the bottom of the seventh.
Chase Moore (4-0) remained undefeated, scattering five hits while walking none, striking out 10 and giving up just the single run.
Sullivan, Joey Bradley and Romero all were 2-for-4 in the game each with Sullivan hitting a triple and scoring a run.
Bradley had a double and scored two runs while Romero had two RBIs and scored two runs.
Vancouver 17, Wilder 7
In Saturday’s meaningless crossover game, Port Angeles — which was playing several younger players for experience — couldn’t keep up with the Vancouver Athletics.
The A’s scored nine runs in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 17-7 lead, which ended after invoking the 10-run mercy rule.
Romero went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored for Wilder.
In Sunday’s third-place game, Wilder shaded Bellingham Post 7 by the score of 5-3.
Bellingham led 3-1 going into the seventh inning but Wilder scored four unanswered runs in the top of the seventh to win the game.
Wilcox opened the seventh with a walk. Two outs later, Easton Napiontek had an RBI-single.
Jenkins followed with a two-RBI double while Bradley finished it with a single that knocked in the final run.
Sullivan threw the first five innings, no-hitting Bellingham while fanning seven, allowing one run but walking eight. He was lifted by coach Merritt because of a high pitch count.
Konopaski (1-1) pitched the final two innings to pick up the win.
Napiontek went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run while Jenkins and Bradley both went 1-for-1 each.
Jenkins had a two-RBI double with a run scored while Bradley, pinch hitting, knocked in two runs with a double in the seventh inning.
