SELAH — Wilder Senior qualified for the American Legion AAA state championship series after getting spectacular pitching in the semifinal from Colton Romero and Braydan White in a 3-0 victory over Mount Spokane Wild AAA.
Wilder Senior did not play in the championship games against the Yakima Pepsi Pak because the original game time was pushed back from 1 p.m. Wednesday to 5 p.m. Wednesday, with a second possible championship game set for 4 p.m. Thursday if Wilder Senior won the first game.
Wilder Senior is playing in the Babe Ruth World Series beginning Saturday, not giving the team enough time to complete the state tournament, then travel to Florida with the times of the American Legion games being pushed back. The game was forfeited and the Yakima Pepsi Pak will move on to the American Legion Regionals in Billings, Mont.
In the Mount Spokane victory, Romero and White combined for a two-hitter against Mount Spokane. Romero went 6â…” innings, allowing both hits and four walks. He struck out seven.
Mount Spokane got two on base in the bottom of the seventh with two out. With the tying run at the plate, White came in to get the final high-stress out on a grounder to shortstop Alex Angevine. Romero was credited with the victory while White was credited with a save.
The seniors managed just five hits themselves. Bryant Laboy drove in a run with a single in the fourth inning.
Wilder Senior took that 1-0 lead into the seventh inning when it picked up a couple of insurance runs. Josiah Gooding had a clutch RBI single and Angevine came in to score on an error.
Angevine finished the game 2-for-4 with a double. Wilder Senior made zero errors in the game as Mount Spokane made five.
Wilder Senior went 3-1 at the state tournament, not counting the forfeit.
Wilder Senior (33-9-1) returns home briefly from Selah and then gets ready to fly to Ocala, Fla., which is near Orlando, as the Pacific Northwest representative. The seniors’ first game at the Babe Ruth 18U tournament is 11 a.m. Saturday against a team from Australia. Wilder Senior plays a team from Nederland, Texas, at 4 p.m. Monday, they play the Florida state champion out of Fort Caroline at 4 p.m. Tuesday, then play the Mexican Babe Ruth champion at 10 a.m. Wednesday. All times Pacific.
Wilder Senior 3, Mount Spokane 0
WSr. 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 — 3 5 0
MS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 5
Pitching
WSr. — Romero 6.2 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 7 K; White 0.1 IP.
Hitting
WSr. — Angevine 2-4, 2B, R; Laboy 1-2, R, RBI; Gooding 1-4, R, RBI.
