KELSO — The Wilder Senior Baseball Club is the champion of the Pacific Northwest Babe Ruth 18U tournament, going 6-0 in the tourney and qualifying for the national Babe Ruth World Series in Florida.
Wilder Senior made it to the title game by beating 5-3 the Mavericks 18U squad 5-3 early Saturday, then beating Prosser 18U in the title game 4-2 on Saturday night.
In the championship game, the seniors managed just three hits, but took advantage of five Prosser errors.
Meanwhile, Wilder Senior made just one error and rode the fantastic pitching of Ethan Staples. Staples went six innings and allowed three hits and one earned run. He struck out six. Alex Angevine came in to pitch in the seventh inning, allowing no baserunners and striking out one to earn his second save of the day.
At the plate, Angevine went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs scored. Josiah Gooding also stole a base and scored two runs. Braydan White hit a sac fly to drive in a run.
Angevine and Brayden Martin combined on a six-hitter over the Mavericks. Martin went 5⅓ innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs while striking out four to earn the victory. Angevine pitched the final 1⅔, allowing two hits, no runs and striking out one, earning his first save.
Wilder Senior did most of its damage in the second inning, scoring four runs. Colton Romero had a double and run scored, while Landen Olson had a triple, a run scored and two RBI. Gooding hit a double, while Ezra Townsend had a hit and a run scored.
Jordan Shumway also added a hit, a run scored, an RBI and two stolen bases.
Throughout the six games of the tournament, Wilder Senior went 6-0 and allowed just 12 runs. Staples had a no-hitter earlier in the tournament in a 13-0 win over the Roosters, and the seniors’ pitchers allowed just 23 hits in the six victories. The team outscored its opponents 48-12.
The Babe Ruth World Series will begin Aug. 1 in Ocala, Fla.
First, the seniors have to play in the Washington state American Legion tournament, which begins July 26 in Selah.
The seniors made a road trip from Kelso to Bellevue, returning to its American Legion schedule Sunday with a doubleheader against Lakeside Legion.
Lakeside Legion won the first game 5-1, snapping the seniors’ 11-game winning streak. Lakeside scored all of its runs in a big sixth inning.
Jordan Shumway went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Staples had a hit and an RBI.
Results of the second game Sunday between Wilder Senior (29-7-1) and Lakeside Legion were after press deadline.
Wilder Senior 4, Prosser 2
Pros. 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 3 5
WSr. 2 0 2 0 0 0 x — 4 3 1
Pitching
WSr. — Staples 6 IP, 3 H, Er, 6 K; Angevine IP, K.
Hitting
WSr. — Angevine 1-3, 2 R, 2 SB; Gooding 0-2, 2 R; White 0-2, SF, RBI.
Wilder Senior 5, Mavericks 3
Mav. 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 6 1
WSr. 0 4 0 0 1 0 x — 5 6 0
Pitching
WSr. — Martin 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 K; Angevine 1.2 IP, 2 H, K.
Hitting
WSr. — Olson 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI; Shumway 1-3, R, RBI, 2 SB; Romero 1-2, 2B, R; Angevine 1-3, R; Townsend 1-2, R; Gooding 1-2, 2B.
Lakeside 5, Wilder Senior 1
WSr. 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 — 1 5 1
Lake. 0 0 0 0 0 5 x — 5 7 1
Pitching
WSr. — Schmadeke 5.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 5 K; White 0.2 IP, 2 H.
Hitting
WSr. — Shumway 2-3, R; Staples 1-3, RBI.
