PORT ANGELES — Up 5-1 after two innings of their American Legion AA District Two district title game against Montesano, the Olympic Crosscutters were sitting pretty.
Too bad Legion baseball games are seven-inning affairs.
Montesano answered quickly, putting together four-run third and three-run fourth innings to push past the Cutters 10-6 on Sunday at Civic Field.
The winners will take the district’s top seed to the AA State Championship next weekend in Mount Vernon and Burlington, while Olympic, the No. 2 seed, also will vie for a state title.
Justin Porter led the way in the early going for the Cutters, doubling home Joel Wood in the first inning and later scoring on a dropped third strike to Lane Dotson.
Dotson scored when Logan Shaw singled and Montesano made an error on the play.
Shaw later scored on another Montesano error for a 4-1 Olympic lead.
Porter added another RBI double in the second to score Ben Bruner.
Montesano got to Cutters starter Gavin Velarde to open the top of the third inning.
Velarde allowed base hits to Montesano’s first two batters, walked the third batter of the inning to load the bases and then threw a wild pitch to make the score 5-2.
An RBI single by Kyle Trout trimmed Olympic’s lead to 5-3.
Velarde notched two straight strikeouts, but Montesano’s Chase Cleveringa doubled to left field to score two runs and tie the game at 5-all.
Trout added a two-run single in the fourth and Montesano scored another run on a passed ball for an 8-5 lead.
An RBI double by Shaw scored Velarde in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Montesano lead to 8-6, but that’s as close as the area team could get.
The Cutters threatened to rally in their last at-bats, as Porter reached on an error and moved to third on a double by Velarde.
But Porter was picked off at third and Dotson flied to center to end the contest.
The Cutters will begin state tournament pool play Saturday at either Sherman Anderson Ballpark in Mount Vernon or Tiger Field in Burlington.
Montesano 10, Crosscutters 6
Montesano 1 0 4 3 0 2 0 — 10 11 3
Cutters 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 — 6 9 1
WP- Chapman; LP- Sparks
Pitching Statistics
Montesano: Peterson 1 1/3 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Chapman 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
Cutters: Velarde 3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; Sparks 1/3 IP, H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, K; C. Dotson 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, ER, 0 BB, K; Thayer IP, H, 0 R, K.
Hitting Statistics
Montesano: Playto 3-4, 2 R, RBI; Trout 2-4, R, 3 RBI; Cleveringa 2-4, 2 RBI; Playto 3-4, 2 R; RBi
Cutters: Porter 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI; Shaw 2-3, 2B, SB, R, RBI; Bruner 2-3, R; Velarde 2-3, SB, R; L. Dotson 1-4, SB, RBI; Bainbridge 1-2, RBI; Wood 0-1, BB, 2 R.
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Compiled using team reports.
