SILVERDALE — The Wilder Senior baseball team captured third place at the Pacific Northwest Regional championships Sunday.
Wilder, co-champion of the state tournament, lost 10-3 to powerhouse Northwest Star Academy of Portland, Ore., in the championship semifinals at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds.
Portland improved to 5-0 in regional action, advancing to the championship game against tourney host Kitsap, which was 4-1 after beating Federal Way Buzz 8-4 in the semifinals Sunday.
Wilder and Buzz shared the North Washington state title and the two teams were eliminated from regionals at the same time.
The Port Angeles team, which has players from all over the North Olympic Peninsula, finished the season 27-14.
Wilder started the season slowly while dealing with injuries, and was 11-10 at one point.
“The kids could have packed it in when we were 11-10,” Wilder coach Rob Merritt said.
“They deserve a lot of credit. We hit the peak at the right time. This is a great group of kids. This season was real rewarding.”
Wilder led Portland 3-1 through three innings but had three errors in the final four innings as Portland came back for the 10-3 win.
Danny Romero of Port Angeles was 1-for-3 with a 2-RBI triple while Don DeFrang of Port Angeles had a single in a 1-for-3 day.
Wilder was held to those two hits.
Chase Moore started the semifinal game, going 3 2/3 innings, and Robbie Wheeler threw 1 1/3 innings while ace Josh Orr pitched the final two innings.
Orr finished the season 9-1, losing only to the Buzz in pool play at the regionals.
Wilder finished second at regionals in 2006.
Portland dominated action at regionals, going 4-0 in pool play, beating Crater Lake, Ore., 15-2, Lower Columbia of Longview/Kelso 9-0, Latah County of Moscow, Idaho, 19-2 and host Kitsap 6-0.
