SPOKANE — The Wilder A Baseball Club is having a great state American Legion tournament so far, going 2-0 after a 13-8 victory over the Yakima Pepsi Juniors on Sunday night.
Wilder A has already qualified for the American Legion state semifinals, win or lose Monday. The Olympic Peninsula team played the Kennewick Phantoms A team Monday night after press deadline. Go online to www.peninsuladailynews.com or Wednesday’s sports section for results of that game.
“They have a will to want to win. They have a will to get up and play for each other,” said coach Jadon Seibel.
In Sunday’s win, Wilder A pitchers got touched up for five runs in the first two innings, but then bore down over the next four innings, keeping the Yakima Juniors bats silent as Wilder pounded out 12 hits.
A total of five pitchers took the mound, giving up five earned runs. Andre Campbell and Garrett Buerer combined to go 3⅔ innings, allowing three hits and no runs. Buerer struck out two.
“We had our guys throwing strikes and letting their teammates play defense,” Seibel said. Wilder A made just two errors in the game.
While Wilder A’s pitchers settled down, the team tallied seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 13-5 lead, blowing open what had been a close game.
At the plate, eight players had hits. Easton Fisher went 3-for-4 with a double, scoring two runs and driving in three. He also stole a base.
Bubba Hernandez was 2-for-3 with a double, three runs scored, two RBIs and two stolen bases. Carston Seibel had a double, two runs scored and two RBIs, while Ian Smithson was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Wilder A (16-11 overall) will play at either 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. today in the state semifinals. The games are now live on the Gamechanger app.
Wilder A 13, Yakima Pepsi 8
WA 3 2 1 4 3 0 0 — 13 12 2
Yak. 1 4 0 0 0 0 3 — 8 9 2
Pitching
Wilder A — Bower 2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 K; Campbell 2 IP, 2 H; Buerer 1.2 IP, H, 2 K; Waddell 0.1 IP, 2 ER; Swenson IP, 2 H, K.
Hitting
Wilder A — Fisher 3-4, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, SB; Smithson 2-4, R; Hernandez 2-3, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB; Waddell 1-3, 2 R, RBI, SB; Seibel 1-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI; Proiette 1-3, 2 R; Buerer 1-4, RBI; Leitz 1-4, R.
